This is a list of notable people from Brussels .
Political leaders in Brussels
The Belgian Monarchs
The Belgian Monarchs reside in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. They were all born in Brussels (except for Leopold I ).
Leopold I (1790–1865), the first King of the BelgiansLeopold II (1835–1909), the second King of the BelgiansAlbert I (1875–1934), the third King of the BelgiansLeopold III (1901–1983), the fourth King of the BelgiansBaudouin (1930–1993), the fifth King of the BelgiansAlbert II (born 1934; abdicated 2013), the sixth King of the BelgiansPhilippe (born 1960), the seventh King of the Belgians
Minister-Presidents of Brussels
Governors of Brussels
André Degroeve (1995–1998)
Raymonde Dury (1998) (resigned)
Véronique Paulus de Châtelet (1998)
Mayors of Brussels
Born in Brussels
Following notable people were born in the area today known as the Brussels-Capital Region .
Royals
Politicians
Paul Deschanel (1855–1922), president of France (1920)Antoine Duquesne (1941–2010), Belgian MP and Senator, Member of the European ParliamentPierre Harmel (1911–2009), Prime Minister of Belgium (1965–1966)Marie Janson (1873–1960), politicianPaul-Emile Janson (1872–1944), Prime Minister of Belgium (1937–1938)Philippe Lamberts (born 1963), politicianAdolphe Max (1869–1939), politician and Mayor of Brussels from 1909 until 1939Annemie Neyts (born 1944), politician, former president of the Liberal International , president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb (1936–2023), politicianÉtienne Pinte , French MP and mayor of Versailles Paul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972), Prime Minister of Belgium (1938–1939, 1946 and 1947–1949), President of the United Nations General Assembly (1946–1957), Secretary-General of NATO (1957–1961)Emile Vandervelde (1866–1938), President from 1900 of the Second International
Artists
Cinema
Chantal Akerman (1950–2015), filmmaker and directorPatrick Bauchau (born 1938), actorGérard Corbiau (born 1941), film directorThierry De Mey (born 1956), film director and composerJacques Feyder (1885–1948), screenwriter and international film director, one of the founders of poetic realism in French cinema Fernand Gravey (1904–1970), also known as Fernand Gravet, film actorAudrey Hepburn (1929–1993), Anglo-Dutch actress, fashion model, and humanitarianHelena Noguerra (born 1969), actress, singer and television presenterRaymond Rouleau (1904–1981), actor and film directorJean-Claude Van Damme (born 1960), actor, nicknamed "The Muscles from Brussels"Jaco Van Dormael (born 1957 in Ixelles), film directorAlexandra Vandernoot (born 1965), actressAgnès Varda (1928–2019), French film director
Performance / dance
Music
Stromae (Paul van Haver) (born 1985) musicianPlastic Bertrand (Roger Jouret) (born 1958), rock musicianJacques Brel (1929–1978), singer-songwriter and actorJean-Luc De Meyer (born 1963), musician, lead singer of Front 242 Lara Fabian (born Lara Crokaert, 1970), singerRichard Jonckheere (born 1965), musician, member of Front 242Magali Luyten (born 1978), singerVictor-Charles Mahillon (1841–1924), musician and writer on musical topicsBrian Molko (born 1972), songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Placebo Pierre Rapsat (1948–2002), singer and musicianThe Singing Nun (Jeanine Deckers) (1933–1985), member of a Dominican Convent, famous for her song "Dominique"Edna Stern (born 1977), pianistToots Thielemans (1922–2016), jazz musicianTonia (born Arlette Antoine Dominicus, 1947), singerAngèle Van Laeken (born 1995), singer-songwriterGhalia Volt , blues rock musician and songwriter[1] Régine Zylberberg (1929–2022), pioneer of the modern nightclub
Painting / sculpture / architecture / other
Pierre Alechinsky (born 1927), artistRichard Aurili, (1864- 1943), sculptor
Colijn de Coter (c. 1446–1538), Renaissance painterLodewijk de Vadder (1605–1655), landscape painterFrancois Duquesnoy (1597–1643), sculptorAlfred Jonniaux (1882–1974), portrait painterConstantin Meunier (1831, Etterbeek –1905), painter and sculptorJoseph Noiret (1927–2012), painter, writer and poetJoseph Poelaert (1817–1879), architect, author of the Palais de Justice Paul Saintenoy (1862–1952), architectJean Henri Simon (1752–1834), engraver and soldierJean Stevo (1914–1974), painter and engraverArnt van der Dussen , medieval tapestry makerJuliette Wytsman (1866–1925), painter
Fashion
Literature / cartoon
Julio Cortázar (1914–1984), Argentine novelist and poetJacques Danois (1927–2008), actor, journalist, writerMichel De Ghelderode (1898–1962), dramatistAndré Fontainas (1865–1948), Symbolist poet and criticAndré Franquin (1924–1997), cartoonistJacqueline Harpman (1929–2012), novelistHergé (Georges Remi) (1907–1983), Belgian cartoonist, creator of The Adventures of Tintin Edgar P. Jacobs (1904–1987), comics writer, created the series that made him famous, Blake and Mortimer Auguste Jouhaud (1805–1888), writer and playwrightCamille Lemonnier (1844–1913), writerPierre Mertens (born 1939), writer, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles Henri Horace Meyer (1801–1870), French dramatist and novelistJeanine Moulin (1912–1998), poet and literary scholarPaul Nougé (1895–1967), surrealist poet and philosopherHubert Nyssen (1925–2011), Belgian-French writerPeyo (Pierre Culliford) (1928–1992), illustrator and creator of the Smurfs Edmond Picard (1836–1924), jurist and writerFrançois Schuiten (born 1956), comics artistBenoît Sokal (1954–2021), Belgian comic artist and video game developerCharles Spaak (1903–1975), screenwriterPhilippe Tome (Philippe Vandevelde), (1957–2019), comic strip writerJean-Philippe Toussaint (born 1957), writer, Prix Médicis 2005Jean Van Hamme (born 1939), novelist and scenario writer of comic booksGeert van Istendael (born 1947 in Uccle), writerFrançois Weyergans (1941–2019), writer, Prix Goncourt 2005Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), French writer and first female member of the Académie française
Scientists
Jean-Jacques Cassiman (born 1943 in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek , died 2022), researcher and professor of human geneticsFrançois d'Aguilon or Aguilonius (1546–1617), mathematician and physicistPierre Deligne (born 1944), mathematicianFrançois Englert , Nobel Prize in Physics 2013Robert Goldschmidt (1877–1935), chemist and physicianÉliane Gubin (born 1942), Belgian historian, researcher and professorFriedrich Moritz Hartogs (1874–1943), German-Jewish mathematicianJean Jeener (born 1931), physical chemist and physicistClaude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009), French anthropologistJoseph Plateau (1801–1883), physicist; invented an early stroboscopic device, the phenakistiscopeJacques Tits (1930–2021), Belgian-French mathematicianJan Baptist van Helmont (1579–1644), chemist, physiologist and physicianPierre François Verhulst (1804–1849), mathematicianAndreas Vesalius (1514–1564), anatomist and author of the first complete textbook on human anatomy , De Humani Corporis Fabrica On the Workings of the Human Body )Daniel Zajfman (born 1959), Israeli physicist; president of the Weizmann Institute
Intellectuals / religion
Victor Amédée Jacques Marie Coremans (1802–1872), archivist, journalist, and historianPieter Crockaert (1470–1514), philosopher and theologian of the Southern NetherlandsHenri La Fontaine (1854–1943), lawyer and president of the International Peace Bureau , Nobel Prize for Peace in 1913Henri Kichka (1926–2020), writer and Holocaust survivor Xavier de Mérode (1820–1874), prelate, archbishop and statesman of the Papal statesVictor Serge (1890–1947), Russian revolutionaryPascal Vanderveeren (born 1946), lawyer and president of the International Criminal BarLouise van den Plas (1877–1968), suffragist, activist
Sports
Henri Anspach (1882–1979), épée (Olympic champion) and foil fencerPaul Anspach (1882–1991), épée and foil fencer, two-time Olympic championThierry Boutsen (born 1957), Formula One driverRaymond Goethals (1921–2004), (national) soccer trainer; his team Olympique Marseille won the 1993 European Cup Georges Grün (born 1962), football (soccer) defenderJacky Ickx (born 1945), racing driverAaron Leya Iseka (born 1997), footballerManu Lecomte (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Paul Loicq (1888–1953), president of the International Ice Hockey Federation Vincent Kompany (born 1986), football (soccer) playerAxel Merckx (born 1972 in Uccle ), son of Eddy Merckx , professional road bicycle racer, bronze medal Olympic road race 2004Tarec Saffiedine (born 1986), martial artistPhilippe Thys (1890–1971), cyclist and three-time winner of the Tour de France Ivo Van Damme (1954–1976), middle distance runner, silver medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics , in both the 800m and 1500m; Memorial van Damme Constant Vanden Stock (1914–2008), president and player of Brussels football club R.S.C. Anderlecht Franky Vercauteren (born 1956), football left winger in R.S.C. Anderlecht and R.W.D. Molenbeek , football manager in R.S.C. Anderlecht and national soccer trainer
Miscellaneous
Life and work in Brussels
Following notable people lived or worked in Brussels at least during a certain period of their life.
Jean Absil (1893–1974 in Brussels), composer, organist, and professor at the Brussels ConservatoryNicolas Ancion (born 1971), writer, lived and worked 1994–2000 in BrusselsHenryk Arctowski (1871–1958), scientist and Arctic explorer, worked at the Royal Observatory of Belgium from 1903 to 1909Arno (1949–2022), rock artist from Ostend, lived a while in BrusselsMaurice Béjart (1927–2007), French choreographer; founded the Ballet du XXe Siècle in 1960 and the Mudra School in 1970, both in BrusselsJules Bordet (1870–1961), immunologist and microbiologist; founded the Pasteur Institute in Brussels; inner of the 1919 Nobel Prize in MedicineJeroen Brouwers (1940–2022), Dutch author, lived from 1964 until 1976 in BrusselsPieter Brueghel the Elder (c. 1525–1569), painterJan Bucquoy (born 1945), filmmaker and directorGerald Bull (1928–1990), Canadian engineer, lived and assassinated in Uccle Hendrik Conscience (1812–1883), writerAlexandra David-Néel (1868–1969), explorer and writerAnne Teresa de Keersmaeker (born 1960), choreographer; founded the dance company Rosas in 1983 and the dance school P.A.R.T.S. in 1995 in BrusselsMarc Didden (born 1949) film director, made Brussels By Night Adil El Arbi (born 1988), film directorDesiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536), humanist and theologian; lived in Anderlecht (Erasmus House) from 31 May until 28 October 1521M. C. Escher (1898–1972), Dutch graphic designer, lived in Uccle from 1937 to 1971François-Joseph Fétis (1784–1871), musicologist, composer, critic and teacher, one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century; became director of the conservatory of Brussels and the chapelmaster of King Leopold IJan Greshoff (1888–1971), Dutch writer, lived from 1927 until 1939 in Schaerbeek on the August Reyerslaan 130Ania Guédroïtz (born 1949), Belgian actressWillem Frederik Hermans (1921–1995), Dutch author.Victor Horta (1861–1947), architect, one of the most influential European Art Nouveau architectsEnver Hoxha (1908–1985), Albanian dictator, worked as secretary at the Albanian consulate in Brussels from 1934 to 1936Nicholas Lens , author, composerRené Magritte (1898–1967), surrealist artistIan McCulloch (born 1959), singer of the English rock band Echo & the Bunnymen Eddy Merckx (born 1945), considered by many to be the greatest cyclist of all-time; spent youth and adolescence in BrusselsJef Mermans (1922–1996), nicknamed "The Bomber", football striker who played much of his career at R.S.C. Anderlecht Edward Mosberg (1926–2022), Polish-American Holocaust survivor, educator, and philanthropistEugene Nida (1914–2011), linguist, developer of the dynamic-equivalence Bible-translation theoryAmélie Nothomb (born 1967), novelist, writing in FrenchEmma Orczy (1865–1947), Hungarian-British novelist, spent part of her childhood in Brussels (1868 to 1873)Marius Petipa (1818–1910), French ballet choreographer, lived in Brussels from 1824 to 1834 and studied at the Royal ConservatoryIlya Prigogine (1917–2003), physicist and chemist; studied chemistry in Brussels and was appointed in 1959 director of the International Solvay Institute in Brussels; awarded the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874 in Brussels), astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist; founded and directed the Brussels Observatory; inventor of the body mass index Vini Reilly (Vincent Reilly, born 1953), rock musician, guitarist of the English band The Durutti Column ; performed on Morrissey 's first solo album in 1988Jan van Ruysbroeck (also known as Jan van den Berghe), architect of the 15th century; amongst his work is the belfry of the Hotel de Ville of BrusselsJohn of Ruysbroeck (or Jan, Jean, Johannes) (c. 1293–1381), 'mystic', priest in Brussels and GroenendaalJan Zygmunt Skrzynecki (1787–1860), Polish general, high-ranking officer of the Belgian army from 1832 to 1839Ernest Solvay (1838–1922), chemist, industrialist and philanthropist; founded institutes and the Solvay Business School in BrusselsNicolas de Staël (born Nikolai Vladimirovich Stael von Holstein, 1914–1955), Russian-French abstract painter; lived in Uccle from 1922 to the early 1930; studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts Olivier Strelli (born Nissim Israël, 1946), fashion designerPieter Coecke van Aelst (1502–1550), painterRogier van der Weyden (c. 1399–1464), painterEmond van Dynter (c. 1370–1449), writerVincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Dutch painter, studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels from 1880 to 1881Paul Van Himst (born 1943), nicknamed Polle Gazon , football player, four-times winner of the Belgian Golden Shoe award, eight-times winner of the Belgian championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht Bernaert van Orley (c. 1488–1541), Renaissance painterJohan Verminnen (born 1951), singer-songwriterGeorge Washington (1871–1946), inventor and first commercial producer of instant coffee, grew up in BrusselsHenryk Wieniawski (1835–1880), violinist and composer, taught at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels from 1874 to 1877.Antoine Wiertz (1806–1865), painter and sculptorJan Yoors (1922–1977), Flemish artist, studied at La Cambre from 1941 to 1942
Brussels as a safe harbor
Brussels was known to be a safe harbor for artists and thinkers facing political (or simply criminal) persecution. This was particularly true during the 19th century, although it was a cause of some debate, and policies were prone to change (e.g. the case of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels , who were expelled from the city in 1848).
Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), French poetLouis Blanc (1811–1882), French poet, French politician and historianGeorges Boulanger (1837–1891), French general and politicianJacques-Louis David (1748–1825), French painterJosé de San Martin (1824–1830), Argentine General and 1st President of PeruAlexandre Dumas, père (1802–1870), French author, known for his historical novels Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), German social scientist and political philosopher, co-author of The Communist Manifesto Willem Frederik Hermans (1921–1995), Dutch writerVictor Hugo (1802–1885), one of the most influential French writers of the 19th century; completed Les Misérables Brussels Joachim Lelewel (1786–1861), Polish historian and politician, associate of Karl Marx , lived in Brussels from 1833 to 1861Karl Marx (1818–1883), German political philosopher, wrote The Communist Manifesto [2] Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker) (1820–1887), Dutch author, wrote his masterpiece Max Havelaar [3] Cyprian Norwid (1821–1883), Polish poet, stayed in Brussels from August 1846 to January 1847 after his expulsion from Prussia Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865), French philosopher, the first individual to call himself an "anarchist "Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), French sculptorPaul Verlaine (1844–1896), French poet; was joined briefly by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud 
