Yes, a bit of a chauvinistic side has been awakened in me, and since no other person around the forum thinks about poor Belgium -- I will! Some of my favourite Belgian people: 1° Karel De Grote or Charlemagne 2° Geradus Mercator Inventor of the "atlas" and the "Mercator world projection" -- which is the world map that hangs in every classroom around the world. 3° Andreas Vesalius 4° Father Damian 5° Joseph Plateau Inventor of cinematography.
Much to my chagrin. The map shouldn't be used at all, as it's sole purpose is make the European continent look much larger than it actually is. Not to mention Greenland... dear god! It's the size of Mexico, not Africa, for Christ's sake.
Boehoe, Plymouth. Don't be such a purist! The Mercator-projection is awesome, and that's final! (Also, the debate about the Mercator-projection was a funny side-storyline in a West Wing episode)
Hercule Poirot The single greatest Belgian ever. Sorry, I'm sure there are many great belgians but he was all I could think of. He is great though...
1° Justius Luptius Crucial for the foundation of the concept of the "modern state". 2° Paul Janssen World-renowed developer of crucial medicines used around the world by billions of people. The world would be an entire different place nowadays without Dr. Janssen. 3° Peter Minuit Bought Manhattan (NYC) from the Indians. 4° Adolphe Sax Inventor of the Saxophone!
Don't be so British! Apparantly there is a joke about "famous Belgians", Red told it to me -- and I thought it wasn't funny at all to say the least. Belgians mostly are what we call a "grijze muis", or in English a "grey mouse": we don't like bombastic, trumphets and too much fanfare... Belgium was the 3rd economic power in the world in latter half of the 19th century -- that achievement didn't came falling out of the sky. Take medicines -- if it weren't were for Belgian scientists the world would look very different. Even today, teeny weeny Belgium is the second total exporter of pharmaceuticals in the world and has the highest percentage of medicines in development per capita in the world.
'parently he was born near Liege. Hail Charlemange. King of the Franks. Holy Roman Emperor. Son of Belgium...
I'd heard of Charlemagne and Mercator (although I thought he was Dutch). I've no idea who the other ones are.
1° Karel Bossart Worked for the US Army and was absolutely crucial for the defense of the Western world against possible Soviet agression -- inventor of the ATLAS ICBM. 2° Paul-Henri-Spaak Most famous for being one of the European Founding Fathers. One of the most important European statesmen of the 20th century. First Chairman of the General Assembly of the United Nations and also an achitect of the Treaties of Rome, the foundation of what is now the European Union -- which is underligned by the notion he was the first man to sign the Treaty. He also was Secretary General of NATO. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom out of the hands of John F. Kennedy. 3° Paul Otlet Visionary of the highest importance for human civilization, will post an article that printed in Der Spiegel last week in an other post. 4° Guy Verhofstadt Belgian and European statesman, famous for his numerous manifestos, e.g. "United States of Europe". Very passionate politician to say the least... Also, he's well liked because he constantly tears those morons from UKIP apart in the European Parliament.
... Plymouth,... ... Father Damian even has a statue in the US Congress, in the so-called "National Statuary Hall Collection". They are numerous documentries made about him, even a famous film. This is what Gandhi had to say about him: Maybe you know this photograph, I deliberatly didn't post it 'cuz it is a bit, well,... judge for yourself:
For real? Was she Belgian? That's pretty d*mn awesome, for a country of @ ten millions. And the U.S. had to settle for Marilyn Monroe.
Nope, never heard of him. And there are lots of fairly obscure people who have statues in the District, lol. I'm sure he was a great guy, I've just never heard of him.
You're delusional. Guy Verhofstadt couldn't tear a paper bag. I'm surprised you haven't mention Herman "damp rag" Van Rompuy as a Belgian person.
Uhm, do you know his political career? When he was in his 20's-early 30's he, for example, basically eliminated numerous Belgian PM's that are now key figures in European politics (e.g. Wilfried Martens). His nickname back then was "Baby Tatcher". Hey! I was going to post Van Rompuy today! Around the world, people deeply respect Mr. Van Rompuy. Fact.
Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx Baron, better known as Eddy Merckx "the cannibal", the best cyclist of all time.
All that proves is that he's adept at climbing the greasy pole! I'd have had a lot more respect for Verhofstadt if he had actually had a career outside of politics. As he's a professional politician, he starts at zero in my estimation, and as he's a europhile professional politician, he slides even further down. And Baby Thatcher? Margaret Thatcher wouldn't have given him the time of day. She had little time for europhiles towards the end of her career. You were saving the best till last? Some people around the world might deeply respect Van Rompuy. Only europhiles in the UK do.
Pieter Breugel the Elder- check out his Peasants Wedding and really most of his paintings. My favorite artist. Peter Paul Reubens- not my favorite artist, but important and influential. Van Eyck- the Ghent Altarpiece- absolutely breathtaking. And more that I am sure I am forgetting. And lets not forget all those fabulous brewers.....
