1953 in Belgium
# 1953 in Belgium

Events in the year 1953 in Belgium.

## Incumbents

* Monarch – Baudouin
* Prime Minister – Jean Van Houtte

## Events

* 31 January to 1 February – North Sea flood damages Belgian coastal defences, killing 28
* 9 April – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005) marries Prince Jean of Luxembourg (1921–2019), with civil registration in the Grand Ducal Palace and a nuptial mass in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg
* 14 October – Sabena Convair Crash
* 24 October – Firedamp explosion in the Many pit in Seraing, owned by Ougrée-Marihaye, kills 26 (12 Belgians and 14 Italian immigrant workers)
* 31 October – First public television broadcasts of the Belgian National Broadcasting Institute, from the Flagey Building in Brussels

## Publications

### Non-fiction

* Gustave Cohen, Le Théâtre français en Belgique au Moyen Âge (Brussels, La Renaissance du Livre)
* Paul Harsin, La Révolution liégeoise de 1789

### Fiction

* Louis Paul Boon, De Kapellekensbaan
* Hergé, Explorers on the Moon, serialised 1952-1953
* Georges Simenon, Feux rouges, Maigret et l'homme du banc, and Maigret se trompe
* Willy Vandersteen, De dolle musketiers, Suske & Wiske album (serialised 1952–1953)

## Art and architecture

### Paintings

* René Magritte, Golconda

### Performance

* 14 to 18 July – Théâtre National de Belgique production of Jean Giraudoux's Ondine at the Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith).

## Births

* 10 January
   * Olga Zrihen, politician
   * Josiane Vanhuysse, cyclist
* 23 January – Carl Devlies, politician
* 26 January – Daniël Theys, glassmaker
* 1 February – Walter de Paduwa, radio DJ
* 21 February – Siegfried Bracke, politician
* 14 March – Dirk Van der Maelen, politician
* 3 April – Pieter Aspe, writer (died 2021)
* 5 April – Paul Broekx, Olympic canoer
* 11 April – Guy Verhofstadt, politician
* 1 May – Willy Linthout, comics author
* 7 May – Alain Brichant, tennis player
* 6 June – Jan Durnez, politician
* 30 June – Koen Fossey, illustrator
* 22 July – René Vandereycken, footballer
* 25 August – Georges De Moor, health statistician
* 20 September – André Delcroix, cyclist
* 26 September – Micha Marah, singer
* 27 September – Jean-Paul Comart, actor
* 9 October – Marcia De Wachter, economist
* 17 October
   * Thierry Soumagne, fencer
   * Claire Vanhonnacker, singer (died 1992)
* 27 October – Daniel Guldemont, martial artist
* 28 October – Jean-Marie Berckmans, writer (died 2008)
* 19 November – Didier de Chaffoy de Courcelles, businessman
* 20 November – Étienne De Beule, cyclist
* 4 December – Jean-Marie Pfaff, goalkeeper

## Deaths

* 6 January – Maurice Corneil de Thoran (born 1881), musician
* 9 January – Jean Brusselmans (born 1884), painter
* 17 January – Jean de Bosschère (born 1878), writer and painter
* 19 January – Jean Delville (born 1867), painter
* 11 March – Charles Saroléa (born 1870), philologist
* 26 March – Paul Loicq (born 1888), hockey administrator
* 16 May – Django Reinhardt (born 1910), jazz musician
* 2 June – Servais Le Roy (born 1865), entertainment
* 20 June – Henri de Man (born 1885), politician
* 25 June – Jules Van Nuffel (born 1883), priest and musicologist
* 12 July – Joseph Jongen (born 1873), composer
* 14 September – Pierre Nolf (born 1873), scientist
* 18 September – Charles de Tornaco (born 1927), racing driver
* 2 November – Émile Cammaerts (born 1878), writer
