It’s a standing joke that it’s impossible to name five famous Belgians.

The people of this tiny county are well known for their modesty and rarely toot their own horns.

However, this tiny country has its fair share of significant historical and modern-day heroes from artists to athletes, inventors to actors.

So the next time you are down at the pub, impress your friends with not only five, but the following 20 famous Belgians:

1. Jan Van Eyck

Jan van Eyck was a highly influential Flemish painter active during the early 15th century.
He is often credited with perfecting the technique of oil painting, which allowed for greater detail and realism in his works12. Some of his most famous pieces include the Arnolfini Portrait and the Ghent Altarpiece12. Van Eyck's work is characterized by its intricate detail, use of light, and naturalistic style, which set a new standard for realism in art23.

Although now there are indications oil painting probably originated in Asia, Jan Van Eyck, of Limburg, is known as the ‘father of oil painting,’ for his mastery of the technique.

2. Peter Paul Rubens

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World famous baroque painter, Peter Paul Rubens, was knighted by both Philip IV, King of Spain, and Charles I, King of England.

3. Rene Magritte

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If you know anything at all about Belgian art, you’ll have come across René Magritte and his famous painting of a pipe, The Treachery of Images. The Magritte Museum in Brussels contains some of his most famous works such as The Empire of Light.

4. Victor Horta

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The architecture world owes Victor Horta thanks for his stunning Art Nouveau designs; Four of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

5. Adolphe Sax

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The world of music would be very different had Belgian musician and inventor, Adolphe Sax, not created the saxophone. There are tributes to him and his most famous creation in the Walloon city of Dinant.

6. Toots Thielemans

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Arguably the world’s most renowned harmonica player is Belgian, Jean ‘Toots’ Thielemans, who became a became NEA Jazz Master in 2009.

7. Jacques Brel

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Legendary on the French ‘chanson’ and pop music scene is Jacques Brel, who sings about his birthplace in his song Bruxelles.

8. Jean-Claude Van Damme

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Most people know modern-day action movie actor, Jean-Claude Van Damme is ‘The Muscles from Brussels.’

9. Audrey Hepburn

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Fewer seem aware of the fact the lovely Audrey Hepburn, of Breakfast at Tiffany’s fame, was born Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston in Brussels. You can still see the plaque on the house where she lived.

10. Hergé

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If you grew up reading TinTin’s adventures, you probably know his creator, Belgian Georges Remi, as Hergé.

11. Georges Simenon

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Georges Simenon, is one of Belgium’s most prolific authors, with his world-famous detective series about Commissaire Maigret, of the Paris police.

12. Eddy Merckx

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One of Belgium’s best-loved sports is cycling and Eddy Merckx, the five-time winner of the Tour de France, is the national hero.

13. Kim Clijsters

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Kim Clijsters is a renowned Belgian tennis player. She has had an impressive career, marked by numerous achievements:

1. Grand Slam Titles: Clijsters won four Grand Slam singles titles (three US Opens and one Australian Open) and two Grand Slam doubles titles.
2. World No. 1: She was ranked world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, holding the singles ranking for 20 weeks and the doubles ranking for 4 weeks.
3. Career Titles: She secured 41 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
4. Comebacks: Clijsters retired multiple times but made notable comebacks, including winning the US Open in 2009 as an unranked player.

14. Georges Lemaître

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Belgian Roman Catholic Priest, Georges Lemaître, proposed what he called the ‘hypothesis of the primeval atom’ which would later become known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe.

15. Julius Nieuwland

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Another man of the cloth, Reverend Julius Nieuwland, created the synthetic rubber that led to the invention of neoprene by DuPont.

16 Leo Hendrik Baekeland

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Collectors have Belgian, Leo Hendrik Baekeland, to thank for the design of the early plastic, Bakelite.

17. Jules Bordet

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Belgian bacteriologist, Jules Bordet, developed the first vaccine against the whooping cough virus as well as the Wassermann test for syphilis.

18. Gerardus Mercator

Manneken-Pis spends about half of the year in one of his 1,000 outfits. This tradition of dressing is truly unique in the world.

Flemish cartographer, Gerardus Mercator, devised a technique to produce globes and is remembered for the Mercator projection world map.

19. Liz Claiborne

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The Fortune 500 company CEO and fashion designer Liz Claiborne, was born Elizabeth Claiborne Ortenberg, in Brussels.

20. Dries Van Noten

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In 2005, the New York Times described Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten, “one of fashion’s most cerebral designers.” His eccentric style is world famous.

Although I’ve listed 20 of my favourite famous Belgians here, there are many, many more. You can discover others at Wikipedia’s List of Notable Belgians.

Want to learn more Belgian trivia? Check out our post 40 Fun Facts About About Belgium.

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