Historical figures in Brussels
The atlas holds 53 people and 74 moments here, from 1493 to 2021. The most recorded lives are Victor Hugo, Albert Einstein and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Albert Einstein
from 1911 to 1930
3 moments here
German-born theoretical physicist who transformed modern physics through special and general relativity, foundational work on quantum theory, and…
Alberto Fujimori
in 1991
1 moment here
Peruvian agricultural engineer, university rector, and president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. His presidency combined market reforms and…
Albrecht Dürer
in 1520
1 moment here
German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the Northern Renaissance. Born and died in Nuremberg, Dürer trained there before traveling through the…
Alexandre Dumas
in 1851
1 moment here
French novelist, playwright, journalist, and travel writer, also known as Alexandre Dumas père.…
Alfredo Di Stéfano
in 1958
1 moment here
Argentine-born footballer and manager who became a Spanish citizen and was the central player in Real Madrid's five consecutive European Cup…
Anatole France
in 1913
1 moment here
French poet, journalist, novelist, public intellectual, Académie française member, and 1921 Nobel laureate in Literature.…
Audrey Hepburn
from 1929 to 1932
2 moments here
British actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn (Audrey Kathleen Ruston) was born in Brussels, raised across Belgium, England and the Netherlands,…
Charles Baudelaire
in 1864
2 moments here
French poet, essayist, translator, and art critic, best known for Les Fleurs du mal. Baudelaire lived chiefly in Paris, spent formative school years…
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
from 1515 to 1555
3 moments here
Charles V (1500–1558), also Charles I of Spain, was Holy Roman Emperor, king of Spain, and ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands.…
Charlotte Brontë
from 1842 to 1843
2 moments here
English novelist, poet, and governess, best known for Jane Eyre. This chronology records documented physical presences from her birth in Thornton…
Chinghiz Aitmatov
in 2000
1 moment here
Kyrgyz author, public intellectual, and diplomat who wrote in Kyrgyz and Russian. His documented life connects his native Sheker and Soviet-era…
Claude Simon
in 1940
1 moment here
French novelist, painter, photographer, viticulturist, Resistance participant, and 1985 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.…
Desiderius Erasmus
from 1493 to 1521
2 moments here
Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, theologian, editor, and author. Erasmus was born in the Burgundian Netherlands, educated in the Low…
Ernest Rutherford
in 1911
1 moment here
New Zealand-born physicist and chemist whose research on radioactivity, the atomic nucleus, and nuclear transmutation helped establish nuclear…
Eusébio
in 1964
1 moment here
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (1942–2014) was a Portuguese footballer, born in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), who became Benfica's record goalscorer and…
Friedrich Engels
from 1845 to 1848
2 moments here
German philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, businessman, and Karl Marx’s lifelong collaborator.…
George H. W. Bush
in 1989
1 moment here
George Herbert Walker Bush was an American naval aviator, oil executive, congressman, diplomat, director of central intelligence, vice president, and…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
from 1822 to 1827
2 moments here
German philosopher and a central figure of German idealism. His documented movements include formative study in Stuttgart and Tübingen; tutoring…
Gerald Ford
in 1975
1 moment here
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 after having served as…
Haile Selassie
in 1924
1 moment here
Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 until his deposition in 1974.…
Herbert Hoover
in 1958
1 moment here
Herbert Clark Hoover was an American mining engineer, international relief administrator, U.S.…
Jawaharlal Nehru
in 1927
1 moment here
Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and statesman who became independent India’s first prime minister, serving from 15 August 1947 until his…
José Mujica
in 2011
1 moment here
Uruguayan guerrilla fighter, farmer and politician who was president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015.…
Joséphine de Beauharnais
in 1807
1 moment here
Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, known as Joséphine, was Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife and Empress of the French from 1804 until the…
Moments
- 1493 Departure from Stein for Brabant Desiderius Erasmus
- 1515 Assumption of rule in the Netherlands Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1520 Visit to Brussels Albrecht Dürer
- 1521 Residence at De Swaene Desiderius Erasmus
- 1554 Abdication of Naples, Sicily, and Milan Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1555 Public abdication before the States General Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1722 Meets Rousseau in Brussels Voltaire
- 1739 Lives largely in Brussels Voltaire
- 1763 Arrives in Brussels Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1763 Performs before Charles of Lorraine Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1807 Stay at Laeken with Hortense Joséphine de Beauharnais
- 1815 Commands at Waterloo Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1816 Journey through Belgium Lord Byron
- 1822 First Brussels visit Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 1827 Return visit to Brussels Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 1837 Travels through Belgium Victor Hugo
- 1842 Student-teacher at the Pensionnat Heger Charlotte Brontë
- 1843 Return alone to teach in Brussels Charlotte Brontë
- 1845 Move to Brussels Friedrich Engels
- 1845 Moves into exile in Brussels Karl Marx
- 1848 Flight and arrest Friedrich Engels
- 1848 Arrested in Brussels Karl Marx
- 1851 Exile in Brussels Alexandre Dumas
- 1851 Flees into exile in Brussels Victor Hugo
- 1852 Lives at the Maison du Pigeon Victor Hugo
- 1862 Returns to Brussels for Les Misérables Victor Hugo
- 1864 Residence at Hôtel du Grand Miroir Charles Baudelaire
- 1864 Stay in Brussels Sarah Bernhardt
- 1864 Departure for Belgium Charles Baudelaire
- 1871 Expelled from Belgium Victor Hugo
- 1878 Trains as an evangelist in Laeken Vincent van Gogh
- 1880 Studies art in Brussels Vincent van Gogh
- 1890 Move to Brussels José Rizal
- 1894 Visits Waterloo battlefield Winston Churchill
- 1905 Recruiting students in Brussels Sun Yat-sen
- 1909 Medical visit to Brussels Ronald Ross
- 1911 Attends the first Solvay Conference Marie Curie
- 1911 First Solvay Conference Max Planck
- 1911 Attends first Solvay Conference Albert Einstein
- 1911 First Solvay Conference Ernest Rutherford
- 1913 Maison du Peuple peace speech Anatole France
- 1919 Belgian postwar visit Woodrow Wilson
- 1924 Foreign tour: Brussels Haile Selassie
- 1927 Congress of Oppressed Nationalities Jawaharlal Nehru
- 1927 Attends fifth Solvay Conference Albert Einstein
- 1927 Fifth Solvay Conference Lawrence Bragg
- 1927 Fifth Solvay Conference Niels Bohr
- 1929 Birth in Ixelles Audrey Hepburn
- 1930 Attends sixth Solvay Conference Albert Einstein
- 1932 Family settlement in Linkebeek Audrey Hepburn