Albert I was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934.
Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled King of the Belgians and serves as the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian Armed Forces. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830.
The Catholic University of Leuven or Louvain was founded in 1834 in Mechelen as the Catholic University of Belgium, and moved its seat to the town of Leuven in 1835, changing its name to Catholic University of Leuven. In 1968, it was split into two universities, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain, following tensions between the Dutch and French-speaking student bodies.
DéFI is a social-liberal and regionalist political party in Belgium mainly known for defending French-speakers' interests in and near the Brussels region. Founded in 1964, the party is led by François De Smet, a member of the Chamber of Representatives. The party's current name, DéFI or Défi, was adopted in 2016 and is a backronym of Démocrate, Fédéraliste, Indépendant meaning "challenge" in French.
Emile Vandervelde was a Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss", Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism.
Henry Victor Marie Ghislain, Count Carton de Wiart (1869–1951) was a Belgian writer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 20 November 1920 to 16 December 1921.
Jules Destrée was a Walloon lawyer, cultural critic and socialist politician. The trials subsequent to the strikes of 1886 determined his commitment within the Belgian Labour Party. He wrote a Letter to the King in 1912, which is seen as the founding declaration of the Walloon movement. He is famous for his quote "Il n'y a pas de Belges", pointing to the lack of patriotic feelings in Flemings and Walloons, while pleading for some kind of federal state.
The Belgian Labour Party was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist Party in 1945.
The Walloon Movement traces its ancestry to 1856 when literary and folkloric movements based around the Society of Walloon language and literature began forming. Despite the formation of the Society of Walloon Literature, it was not until around 1880 that a "Walloon and French-speaking defense movement" appeared, following the linguistic laws of the 1870s. The movement asserted the existence of Wallonia and a Walloon identity while maintaining the defense of the French language.
The King Albert Medal was a Belgian medal established by royal decree on 7 April 1919 and awarded to both Belgians and foreigners who were exceptionally meritorious in promoting, organising or administering humanitarian and charitable work that assisted Belgians in need during the First World War.
The general strike of 1893 was a major general strike in Belgium in April 1893 called by the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) to pressure the government of Auguste Beernaert to introduce universal male suffrage in elections. The general strike was the first called in Belgium and a decisive moment for the nascent socialist movement in Belgium. According to the historian Carl J. Strikwerda, it was the first true general strike in the history of Europe.
The royal question was a major political crisis in Belgium that lasted from 1945 to 1951, coming to a head between March and August 1950. The question at stake surrounded whether King Leopold III could return to the country and resume his constitutional role amid allegations that his actions during World War II had been contrary to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution. It was eventually resolved by the abdication of Leopold in favour of his son King Baudouin in 1951.
The Political Prisoner's Medal 1914–1918 was a Belgian medal established by royal decree on 26 December 1930 and awarded to Belgian civilians who were detained for a minimum of one month by the Germans during the First World War following an act of courage or devotion towards the Allies' cause.
The De Broqueville government in Sainte-Adresse refers to two successive Belgian governments, led by Charles de Broqueville, which served as governments in exile during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I. They were based in Le Havre in northern France after October 1914. The first government, known as the First de Broqueville government, was a Catholic government which was elected in 1911 and continued until 1916, when it was joined by Socialists and Liberals expanding it into the Second de Broqueville government, which lasted until 1 June 1918. In November 1914, the vast majority of Belgian territory was under German occupation. The only portion of Belgium that remained controlled by the Kingdom of Belgium in exile was the strip of territory behind the Yser Front.
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch rule over the region, leading to the creation of the first independent Belgian state in 1830.
The general strike of 1913 was a major general strike in Belgium. It was the third general strike aimed at forcing electoral reform and, like the general strike of 1902, was particularly aimed at ending the system of plural voting. It officially lasted between 14 and 24 April and brought out between 300,000 and 450,000 workers on strike. Despite its large participation, it was relatively peaceful.
Events in the year 1862 in Belgium.
Louise van den Plas was a Belgian suffragist and the founder of the first Christian feminist movement in Belgium.
Events in the year 1846 in Belgium.
Josse-Émile van Dievoet was a Flemish politician and lawyer. He served as Belgian Minister of Justice.
