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
José Rizal
in 1890
1 moment here
Filipino nationalist, writer, physician, and polymath whose reform advocacy, novels, exile, trial, and execution made him a central figure in…
Karl Marx
from 1845 to 1848
2 moments here
German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier, Marx studied in Bonn and Berlin, worked in Cologne, and…
Kofi Annan
in 2005
1 moment here
Ghanaian diplomat and statesman who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006.…
Lawrence Bragg
in 1927
1 moment here
Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer. Bragg shared the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics with his father, William Henry Bragg, for…
Li Keqiang
in 2019
1 moment here
Chinese politician and economist who rose from rural labour in Anhui through the Communist Youth League, led Henan and Liaoning, served as vice…
Lord Byron
in 1816
1 moment here
George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), was a British poet, peer, and political speaker.…
Marie Curie
in 1911
1 moment here
Polish-born, naturalized-French physicist and chemist who pioneered research on radioactivity. With Pierre Curie she discovered polonium and radium.…
Max Planck
in 1911
1 moment here
German theoretical physicist and originator of quantum theory. Planck’s documented life moved from Kiel to Munich, Berlin, Kiel again, and Berlin,…
Mikhail Gorbachev
in 1972
1 moment here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Miriam Makeba
in 1985
1 moment here
South African singer, songwriter, actor, and anti-apartheid activist known as “Mama Africa.” Makeba’s career took her from Johannesburg and Pretoria…
Muammar Gaddafi
in 2004
1 moment here
Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from the 1969 coup until his overthrow and killing during…
Napoleon Bonaparte
in 1815
1 moment here
French military commander and statesman who rose during the French Revolution, became First Consul in 1799, and ruled as Emperor of the French in…
Niels Bohr
in 1927
1 moment here
Danish theoretical physicist whose work on atomic structure and quantum theory earned the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics.…
Olav V
in 1964
1 moment here
Olav V of Norway (born Prince Alexander of Denmark) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991.…
Omar Bongo
in 1993
1 moment here
Gabonese politician who served as Gabon’s second president from 1967 until his death in 2009.…
Patrice Lumumba
from 1956 to 1960
2 moments here
Congolese independence leader and first prime minister of the Republic of the Congo. Lumumba worked in Stanleyville, led the Mouvement National…
Richard Nixon
in 1969
1 moment here
Richard Milhous Nixon was an American lawyer, naval officer, congressman, senator, vice president, and the 37th president of the United States.…
Ronald Reagan
from 1985 to 1988
2 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Ronald Ross
in 1909
1 moment here
British physician, malariologist, mathematician, writer, and 1902 Nobel laureate. Ross established the mosquito’s role in malaria transmission…
Sarah Bernhardt
in 1864
1 moment here
French stage and early film actress, born Henriette-Rosine Bernard in Paris. Bernhardt became an international theatrical star through performances…
Silvio Berlusconi
from 2003 to 2021
2 moments here
Italian media entrepreneur, owner of AC Milan, and politician who served three terms as prime minister of Italy (1994–1995, 2001–2006, and…
Sun Yat-sen
in 1905
1 moment here
Chinese physician, revolutionary, and political thinker who founded the Republic of China and the Kuomintang.…
Victor Hugo
from 1837 to 1871
5 moments here
French Romantic poet, novelist, dramatist, artist, activist, and politician. This chronology traces documented physical presences from his mobile…
Vincent van Gogh
from 1878 to 1880
2 moments here
Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose documented movements trace a path from a Brabant childhood through work and religious study in the…
Moments
- 1940 Advance into Belgium Claude Simon
- 1956 Study tour of Belgium Patrice Lumumba
- 1958 Third European Cup final Alfredo Di Stéfano
- 1958 United States Day address at Brussels World's Fair Herbert Hoover
- 1960 Round Table Conference Patrice Lumumba
- 1964 International match in Brussels Eusébio
- 1964 State visit to Belgium Olav V
- 1969 First presidential foreign trip: Brussels Richard Nixon
- 1972 Visit to Belgium Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1973 Visit to Brussels Willy Brandt
- 1975 NATO summit Gerald Ford
- 1985 Settlement in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Miriam Makeba
- 1985 Briefs NATO in Brussels Ronald Reagan
- 1988 Attends Brussels NATO summit Ronald Reagan
- 1989 NATO summit in Brussels George H. W. Bush
- 1991 Meeting Jacques Delors in Brussels Alberto Fujimori
- 1993 Meeting with European Parliament president Omar Bongo
- 2000 Diplomatic residence in Brussels Chinghiz Aitmatov
- 2003 European Council meeting chaired Silvio Berlusconi
- 2004 European Union headquarters visit Muammar Gaddafi
- 2005 International Conference on Iraq Kofi Annan
- 2011 European Union meetings José Mujica
- 2019 China-EU summit Li Keqiang
- 2021 European People's Party summit Silvio Berlusconi