Chronography of Belgium & Luxembourg
Page last
modified 4/9/2022
Click Here for image of Thielt (Belgium)
marketplace, 1917 and 2019
For Luxembourg see Appendix
1
2002, Belgium adopted the Euro.
1999, A new Belgian Government included the Green Party for the
first time, as environmental concerns became more
widespread.
31/7/1993, King Baudouin I
of Belgium died.
5/3/1992, In
Belgium, Christian Democrat Jean-Luc Dehaene agreed to form a coalition
government after a three-month political crisis.
20/3/1985, The
Belgian Parliament approved the deployment of Cruise Missiles.
1983, Death of Leopold III, King of the Belgians 1934-51 until
he involuntarly abdicated in favour of his son, Baudouin, on 17/7/1951.
1980, Belgium adopted a new Constitution devolving government by
language; French, Flemish (Dutch) and German.
14/10/1962, Riots in
Brussels as the Flemish demanded constitutional change.
26/3/1961, In Belgian elections, the Christian Socialists
lost their overall majority and formed a coalition government with the
Socialists. Theodore
Lefevre (Christian Socialist) succeeded Gaston Eyskens (also Christian
Socialist) as Prime Minister.
19/10/1958, The 1958 World Fair closed in Brussels. It attracted 40
million visitors, the main centrepiece being The Atomuim, which remains today.
1957, Belgium became one of the founder
members of the EEC.
17/7/1951, Baudouin became King of Belgium, after the
enforced abdication of his father, King Leopold III.
Leopold surrendered
the Belgian armed forces to the Nazis on 28/5/1940, just 18 days after the
German invasion of Belgium began, a move condemned as too hasty by the Allies. Leopold
then chose to become a PoW in the luxurious surroundings of Laeken Castle, near
Brussels. However there was evidence that Leopold had averted the deportation of half a
million Belgian women in 1942 to work in German munitions factories. After the War Leopold
was exiled to London. Belgian opinion on his return wad divided on
ethnic/religious lines, with a referendum providing a 58% pro-Leopold majority.
This majority was mainly from the Catholic Flemish north of Belgium. The
southern Walloon socialist liberals were against Leopold�s return. In July 1950
Belgian coalminers went on strike against Leopold. In the interests of national unity Leopold
abdicated in favour of his son.
1/8/1950, King Leopold III abdicated in favour of his
son Baudouin.
23/7/1950, Anti-Leopold riots in Brussels, Belgium.
22/7/1950, Leopold III of Belgium returned to the throne
after 6 years.
12/3/1950. A referendum
in Belgium favoured the monarchy. King Leopold III returned to the throne after
6 years on 22/7/1950. On 23//7/1950 there were anti-Leopold riots on the
streets of Brussels. On 1/8/1950 King Leopold abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin.
25/8/1947, Franz Cumont, Belgian historian of religion
(born 3/1/1868) died in Brussels.
1/11/1947. The Benelux
customs union, officially created on 29/10/1947, became active.
3/7/1947. The Benelux
Union Bill was ratified, creating an economic union of 18 million people.
1945, The Belgian Christian People�s Party was founded. A
Roman Catholic Party, it previously existed as the Catholic Bloc (founded
1936), itself a successor to the first modern Belgian Catholic Party, founded
in 1884.
18/7/1945, The Belgian senate voted to forbid the return of Leopold III.
7/6/1944. King Leopold of Belgium was arrested.
1940-1944, Belgium was under Nazi
occupation during World War Two.
Fascist conflict in Belgium pre-World War Two
4/1939, In the Belgian elections, over 45% of votes in the
German-speaking eastern districts went to the Heimattreue Front, which wanted these
regions incorporated into the German Reich.
13/10/1937. The integrity of Belgium was guaranteed by Germany.
22/10/1936. Martial law was imposed in
Belgium to control the Fascists.
24/5/1936. Rexists,
Belgian Fascists, won 21 seats in the General Election.
12/7/1934, Belgium banned
uniformed political parties.
29/8/1935, Queen Astrid of Belgium was
killed in a car crash.
23/2/1934. King Leopold III succeeded to the throne of
Belgium.
17/2/1934. Albert I, King
of Belgium, aged 58, was killed in a climbing accident near Namur, after a
25-year reign. He was succeeded by his son, Leopold III, aged 32, who ruled
until 1950.
7/9/1930, King Baudouin of the Belgians was born at
Stuyenberg Castle, the elder son of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid.
4/11/1926, Queen Astrid of Belgium (1905-35), daughter of
Charles of
Sweden and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, married Leopold III,
Crown Prince of Belgium, who became King of Belgium on 23/2/1934.Mother of King Baudouin I
of Belgium, she was killed in a car accident near Kussnacht, Switzerland.
5/4/1925, The Belgian Workers Party won parliamentary
elections.
4/4/1922, In Brussels, Armand Jeanns was sentenced to death for
betraying nurse Edith Cavell to the Germans.
1921, Belgium-Luxembourg
economic union formed; the two currencies were now at a fixed exchange rate.
10/1/1920. Eupen and Malmedy united with Belgium; this was
ratified by plebiscite later in 1920.
1914-1918,
Belgium under German occupation. For
main events of World War One see France-Germany
14/8/1910, A fire at the World Exhibition, Brussels,
destroyed some of the paintings.
25/4/1910, King Albert I opened the World Exhibition in
Brussels.
23/12/1909. Prince Albert took the oath of fidelity of the
Belgian constitution and became King Albert I of Belgium. He was born on
8/4/1875 at Brussels.� He died from a
fall whilst rock climbing at Namur on 17/2/1934.
17/12/1909, Albert I, 34, succeeded his uncle Leopold II
as King of Belgium, who died aged 74 this day. Leopold II had ruled for nearly
41 years and amassed great personal wealth from his exploitation of the Congo. Albert I
ruled until 1934.
7/3/1905, Auguste Lambermont, Belgian statesman, died
(born 25/3/1819).
15/11/1902, King Leopold II of Belgium was attacked by
anarchist Genaro
Rubbino.
3/11/1901, Leopold III, King of Belgium from 1934, was
born the son of King
Albert I.
27/5/1900, Belgium became the first country to elect a
government by proportional representation.
18/4/1893. Belgium introduced pluralism and universal male
suffrage.
4/1/1891, Pierre de Decker, Belgian statesman, died
(born 1812).
11/7/1886, Jules Malou, Belgian statesman, died.
15/10/1883, The Palace of Justice opened in Brussels.
12//9/1876. King Leopold of Belgium formed the
International African
Association to co-ordinate the activities of European explorers in Africa.
8/4/1875, Albert I, King of Belgium, born.
10/12/1865,
Leopold I, King of Belgium, its first sovereign after separation from The Netherlands, died aged 74. He was succeeded by his
30-year old son, Leopold II.
19/3/1865, Joseph
Lebeau, Belgian statesman, died (born 3/1/1794).
9/4/1835, Leopold II, King of Belgium, was born in
Brussels.
Belgium achieves independence
from The Netherlands, 1830-39
19/4/1839, The Treaty of London
officially recognised the independent Kingdom of Belgium. Willem II
of The Netherlands retained the eastern part of Luxembourg with himself as
Duke.
2/8/1831, The
Dutch invaded Belgium, aiming to restore the United provinces, but were
expelled with the help of France.
21/7/1831, Prince Leopold became Leopold I, King of Belgium, when
that country separated from the Netherlands.
4/6/1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was chosen as
the first sovereign of newly independent Belgium.
7/2/1831, The
Belgian Constitution was published.
20/12/1830. Belgium achieved independence,
conceded by the Dutch
King William.� The Belgians were mainly Catholic, but the
Dutch were mainly Protestant. On 20/1/1831 in London, the boundaries of the
Netherlands and Belgium were settled, and the neutrality of Belgium was
guaranteed by the European powers.
28/10/1830, Liege became part of Belgium.
27/10/1830,
Dutch forces bombarded Antwerp, in an attempt to thwart the secession of
Belgium from The Netherlands.
14/10/1830, Belgium proclaimed its independence,
having been part of the Low Countries (Netherlands).
4/10/1830, Belgium
demanded independence from the Netherlands.
26/9/1830. The Belgians
defeated a Dutch Army sent to quell the Belgian Revolution of 24 August.
25/8/1830, Demonstrations
in Brussels against Dutch rule of Belgium.
24/8/1830. The
Belgian Revolution began late in the night in Brussels. See 26/9/1830.
25/5/1821, Henri Alexis Brialmont, Belgian military
engineer, was born.
25/3/1819, Auguste Lambermont, Belgian statesman, was
born (died 7/3/1905).
2/6/1812, Jan de Winter, Dutch Admiral, died (born
1750).
24/4/1812, Hubert Frere-Orban, Belgian statesman, was
born (died 2/1/1896).
3/1/1794, Joseph Lebeau, Belgian statesman, was born
(died 19/3/1865).
6/11/1792, The French under General
Dumouriez decisively defeated the Austrians at the Battle of
Jenappes, Belgium. As a result of this battle, the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) were annexed by revolutionary
France.
16/12/1790, Leopold I, King of the Belgians, was born.
First independence for Belgium, 1789-90
2/12/1790, Austrian forces reconquered Belgium,
restoring it as the Austrian Netherlands.
27/7/1790, In the Treaty of Reichenbach, Russia,
Prussia, Britain and the Dutch republic agreed that Austria could reconquer
Belgium, formerly the Austrian Netherlands, which had been in a state of revolt
since 1789.
9/1/1790, Britain Prussia and the Dutch republic
agreed a common policy over Belgium, although William Pitt the Younger,
British Prime Minister, was reluctant to recognise Belgian independence.
13/12/1789, The Austrian Netherlands declared their
independence as �The United States of Belgium�.
18/6/1789, Austrian troops occupied Brussels.
11/5/1745, The Battle of Fontenoy took place in
Belgium, during the War of the Austrian
Succession. Marshal
de Saxe won a French
victory over British and Allied forces. William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, had been
sent with Austrian, British, Dutch and Hanoverian troops to relieve Tournai,
Belgium, under siege by the French. Cumberland�s army was beaten back with
casualties of 7,000 and forced to retreat during the night towards Brussels.
The British suffered further setbacks in Flanders and as troops were called
back to fight the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart. The
British made peace with France at Aix la Chapelle in 1748.
23/5/1706, The Battle
of Ramillies, between Louvain and Namur in Belgium.� Allied British and Dutch armies under Marlborough
intercepted a French offensive. 15,000 French and 5,000 Allied soldiers died. The
result of Ramillies was that
Brussels, Antwerp and most of the Spanish Netherlands surrendered. By the end
of 1706 the French held only Namur and Mons in The Netherlands.
1/6/1690, At Fleurus, Belgium, a French Army fought an
allied Spanish and Dutch army.� The
French won.
10/8/1648, Battle of Lens, Belgium.
1585, The
Dutch blockaded the port of Antwerp.
1/6/1523, Two followers of Martin Luther were burnt alive
in Brussels.
1402, Construction of Brussels
Town Hall began.
2/3/1124, Charles The Good, Count of Flanders, was
murdered.
Appendix
1 -
Luxembourg
10/7/2005, Luxembourg voted
to accept the European Constitution.
2002, Luxembourg
adopted the Euro.
1957, Luxembourg
became one of the founder members of the EEC.
1948, The Benelux
Treaty created a customs union.
1940-1944, Luxembourg was
under Nazi occupation during World War Two.
1921, Luxembourg
entered an economic union with Belgium.
23/11/1890, Death of King William
III of the Netherlands (born 1817). He was succeeded by his
10-year-old daughter who ruled as Queen Wilhelmina from 1898. The duchy of
Luxembourg separated from the Netherlands because no woman could inherit the
ducal title.
1867, The Treaty of London declared that Luxembourg was neutral territory.
12/4/963, The foundation of Luxembourg. On this day Count Sigefroi of the House of Ardenne
acquired the site of present day Luxembourg City for the purpose of erecting a
castle there.
