# Who is the most famous non-fictional Belgian? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986 "2014-10-10T18:00:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/41 "2014-10-11T03:12:30Z")
No love for [Father Damien?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Damien) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/42 "2014-10-11T03:18:46Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > Audrey Hepburn is a good choice, except I don’t think most people know she’s Belgian! Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium, but I don’t know that she ever claimed Belgian citizenship. Neither of her parents was Belgian-- one was British, and one was Dutch, IIRC. She lived in the UK for a while, and spent WWII famously in Holland, enduring the hongerwinter. I believe she held British citizenship most of her life, through her father, although she briefly held a Dutch passport, because her mother thought she’d fare better as Dutch during the war. She returned to Britain after the war. Her first husband was American, and they lived in the US and Switzerland, and she never claimed to be an American-- she specifically said this in at least one interview I heard. Her second husband was Italian, which under Italian law made her Italian. I don’t know if her citizenship was repealed when she divorced him. She lived with someone for her last decade of so, but never married him, and IIRC, they lived in Switzerland. So, Audrey Hepburn, born in Belgium, but not Belgian. I vote for Magritte. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/43 "2014-10-11T03:19:17Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Hergé was the first Belgian that came to my mind. And Peyo (smurfs). The problem with some of the older ones is that even if they were born in a place that’s now Belgium, the identity of the area has changed. They were “Belgians” like Vercingetorix was “French” or Seneca was a “Spaniard” (and Seneca at least happened to be born in Hispania - but being Roman trumped being from the provinces). ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/44 "2014-10-11T03:36:18Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The problem with some of the older ones is that even if they were born in a place that’s now Belgium, the identity of the area has changed. They were “Belgians” like Vercingetorix was “French” or Seneca was a “Spaniard” (and Seneca at least happened to be born in Hispania - but being Roman trumped being from the provinces). _sigh_ Damnit **RNATB** , apparently you’re right :p. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/45 "2014-10-11T03:51:02Z")
Leo Baekeland ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/46 "2014-10-11T03:51:54Z")
Someone else. For better or worse the first to come to mind was King Leopold. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/47 "2014-10-11T03:56:22Z")
Marguerite Yourcenar was born in Belgium but left shortly thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/48 "2014-10-11T04:02:38Z")
Brel and Simenon were both Belgian, eh? I assumed they were French. How come Simenon invented a French detective, and it took an Englishwoman to invent a Belgian one? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/49 "2014-10-11T05:18:01Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Someone else. For better or worse the first to come to mind was King Leopold. Yeah. One more vote for Leopold. If he had been in the poll, would he be the leading candidate? ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/50 "2014-10-11T05:22:05Z")
I’ve always liked Antoine-Joseph, aka Adolphe, Sax (1814 – 1894), born in Dinant in the south of Belgium – inventor of the saxophone. Also, according to Wiki, the saxotromba, saxhorn, and saxtuba. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/51 "2014-10-11T06:17:14Z")
My first thought was a group instead of a single person - Trappist monks. Even thinking through the Congo and then getting stomped by invading Germans in both World Wars I couldn’t remember a single Belgian name. None of the names mentioned here I remembered as Belgian aside from Leopold. Trappist monks, Final Answer. Even though I know not all the Trappist monasteries are in Belgium. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/52 "2014-10-11T08:29:46Z")
For students of the steam locomotive, Belgium is a place to reckon with – having been the native country of the following gentlemen. Egide Walschaerts, who invented in 1844 the type of valve gear (mechanism to facilitate and regulate the flow of steam to the pistons) which is named after him. A very efficient lay-out for this purpose, but did not really catch on till the late 19th century – following on from which, it became the most-used type of steam loco valve gear worldwide. Alfred Belpaire – invented in 1864, the Belpaire loco firebox; with a large surface area at the top, promoting effiicent heat transfer and steam production. Was widely used in steam locos built in many countries. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/53 "2014-10-11T10:54:29Z")
My first thought was [Marc Dutroux](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Dutroux)… But of those listed, I’d probably go with Magritte. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/54 "2014-10-11T12:12:34Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Hergé was the first Belgian that came to my mind. Me, too, but I thought it was “Hervé.” Never heard if the Von Romper Room guy. Gonna look him up right now. Audrey Hepburn is a great answer – wish it had occurred to me! (Magritte as well). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/55 "2014-10-11T13:46:54Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Kim Clijsters or Justine Henin. > > Both women tennis players who were ranked #1 in the last 10 years. Those are the first two that came to mind for me. I don’t expect this answer to be the same with the general public, but I’ve always enjoyed women’s tennis, and one of my my favorite eras was when those two were battling it out in the early-to-mid 2000s. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/56 "2014-10-11T13:48:32Z")
So is being born there enough to be Belgian? Can anyone answer that? Because I don’t think Hepburn actually claimed Belgian citizenship. She held British and Dutch passports, and possibly Italian as well, but I don’t think she ever held a Belgian passport. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/57 "2014-10-11T14:13:01Z")
Belgian TV viewers voted in 2005 on the Greatest Belgians: > **[Les plus grands Belges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_plus_grands_Belges)** > > Les plus grands Belges (French for "The Greatest Belgians"), is a television show that aired in 2005 on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF. In the program the audience could vote for the greatest Belgian by using the website, sending an SMS or using the telephone. In total several hundred thousand votes were cast. Nominees needed to have lived between 50 BC and now, between the borders of present-day Belgium. This is because Belgium only gained its independence in 1830, while A sep... There was a separate poll for viewers of the Dutch language channel, with different results: > **[De Grootste Belg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Grootste_Belg)** > > De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian) was a 2005 vote conducted by Belgian public TV broadcaster Canvas, public radio broadcaster Radio 1, and newspaper De Standaard, to determine who is the Greatest Belgian of all time. It could be considered as a Flemish list, considering that French-speaking community broadcast RTBF also held a vote, Le plus grand Belge. > Nominees needed to have lived between 50 BC and now, between the borders of present-day Belgium. This is because Belgium only gained its ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/58 "2014-10-11T14:31:51Z")
Jean-Claude Van Damme. Obviously. (I agree that Audrey Hepburn shouldn’t count as Belgian.) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/59 "2014-10-11T15:35:02Z")
Leopold II ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986/60 "2014-10-11T18:04:20Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So is being born there enough to be Belgian? Can anyone answer that? Because I don’t think Hepburn actually claimed Belgian citizenship. She held British and Dutch passports, and possibly Italian as well, but I don’t think she ever held a Belgian passport. As empress of this poll, I think that to be Belgian the requirements are a) to have been born after there was a country called “Belgium” and b) to have lived there and claimed citizenship. On that front, Audrey Hepburn, Rubens and the Flemish painters are all out. King Leo should probably have been in the poll, but I think van Damme would still lead if he was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-famous-non-fictional-belgian/700986.md?page=4)