1866 in Belgium

← 1865 1864 1863 1866 in Belgium → 1867 1868 1869
Decades:	1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s
See also:	Other events of 1866 List of years in Belgium

Events in the year 1866 in Belgium .

Incumbents

Monarch: Leopold II

Head of government: Charles Rogier

Events

January

• 7 January – Le Peuple (predecessor organisation of Belgian Labour Party) joins First International. ^{[1] : 682}
• 28 January – "Manifeste des ouvriers", drafted by Edmond Picard, calls for universal manhood suffrage. ^{[1] : 682}

March

• 6 March – Belgian-Chinese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation ratified in Brussels. ^[2]

May

• 28 May – Provincial elections
• 31 May – Strikes and lock-outs decriminalised. ^{[1] : 682}

June

• Fresh outbreaks in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp of 1863–75 cholera pandemic. ^{[1] : 682}
• 12 June – Partial legislative elections of 1866

August

• 1 August – Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between Japan and Belgium, negotiated by Auguste t'Kint, signed in Edo. ^[2]
• 27 August – Antwerp city council makes Dutch the official language of city business. ^{[1] : 682}

October

• 20 October – State banquet at Brussels for British Volunteers on visit to Belgium. ^[3]

• 21 October – Risk Allah Bey brought to trial in Brussels on charges of murder and forgery. ^[3]

December

• 20 December – Parliamentary enquiry into preparedness of armed forces begins. ^{[1] : 682}
• 27 December – Belgian-Japanese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation ratified in Brussels. ^[2]

Publications

Periodicals

• Almanach royal officiel (Brussels, H. Tarlier) ^[4]
• Collection de précis historiques, vol. 15, edited by Edouard Terwecoren S.J. ^[5]
• Messager des sciences historiques . ^[6]

Reference works

• Biographie Nationale de Belgique begins publication. ^[7]

Books

• Charles Baudelaire, Les Épaves (Brussels)
• Louis Galesloot, Pierre-Albert et Jean de Launay, Hérauts d'Armes du Duché de Brabant, Histoire de leurs procès, 1643-1687 (Brussels) ^[8]
• Victor Hugo, Travailleurs de la Mer (Brussels)
• Jules de Saint-Genois, Les Flamands d'autrefois

Maps

• Auguste Stessels, Carte générale des bancs de Flandres compris entre Gravelines et l'embouchure de l'Escaut [Map of the sandbanks of the Flemish coast between Gravelines and the mouth of the Scheldt], engraved by J. Nauwens (Antwerp, F. Bizolier) ^[9]

Art and architecture

Church of St John the Baptist (interior)

Buildings

• St John the Baptist's church, Ghent (Gothic Revival parish church)

Births

• 9 January – Albert Baertsoen, painter (died 1922)
• 25 January – Emile Vandervelde, politician (died 1938)
• 27 April – Émile Royer, politician (died 1916)
• 5 July – Maurice Houtart, politician (died 1939)
• 14 July – Juliette Wytsman, painter (died 1925)
• 2 August – Adrien de Gerlache, Antarctic explorer (died 1934)
• 14 August – Charles Jean de la Vallée Poussin, mathematician (died 1962)
• 10 December – Louise De Hem, painter (died 1922)

Deaths

Date uncertain

• Joseph Abbeel (born 1786), veteran of Napoleon's Russian campaign

March

• 24 March – Jean-Baptist David (born 1801), literary scholar

References

1. Alain de Gueldre et al., Kroniek van België (Antwerp and Zaventem, 1987).
2. Dirk De Ruyver, "The First Treaty between Belgium and Japan", in Japan & Belgium: An Itinerary of Mutual Inspiration, edited by W.F. Vande Walle and David De Cooman (Tielt, 2016), pp. 21-111.
3. Joseph Irving, The Annals of Our Time (London and New York, 1871), p. 755.
4. Almanach on Google Books.
5. On Google Books
6. Messager on Google Books.
7. "Biographie nationale", Messager des sciences historiques (1866), pp. 512-514.
8. Pierre-Albert et Jean de Launay at Google Books.
9. "Carte générale des bancs de Flandres". Royal Library of Belgium.