Can you name eight famous Belgians?

[Robert G]

Well, can you?

[Lonnie]

can you hear the sound of a one handed man clapping?.

[BigMac]

I'll start you off with a few (and the question usually only asks for 6, so is this question PhD level?):

Eddy Merkx - cyclist

Herge - Tintin's creator

Plastic Bertrand - 'pop' singer

Rene Magritte - artist (though not 100% certain he's Belgian)

[Quizmonster]

To add to Big Mac's entry, there are Maurice Maeterlinck (playwright), Justine Henin-Hardenne (tennis-player), Adolph Sax (inventor of the saxophone), Leo Baekeland (inventor of bakelite) and Gerardus Mercator (map-maker).
So there you have nine!

[lodekka]

Born in Brussels though of English and Dutch parents, I offer you Audrey Hepburn.

[Quizmonkey]

Jacques Brel, the greatest chansonnier ever born (and most people think he's French).

[lankeela]

Ch.Vanistica's Rainbow at Bluequills

Ch. Shizan De La Douce Plain (Imp)

Ch. Ebontide Nikita JW

Ch. Lebeau Tender Kiss

Ch. Bergerac Sinatra

Ch. Corsini Matisse

Ch. Domburg Reve D'Amour

Ch. Talamo Luna Cdex

These are eight famous Belgians - the first four are Belgian Shepherd Dog (Groenendaels) the other four are Belgian Shepherd Dog (Terveurens) including Best of Breed winners at Crufts. May not be famous to you, but in the world of dogs they are!

Whats my prize?

[mole]

Don't forget Kim Clijsters

There is also Thierry Boutsen and Jacky Ickx, both winners in the world of Formula 1 motor-racing

[hannahjo]

i can't believe no ones beat me to Jean-Claude Van Damme!

[mole]

Georges Simenon (author & creator of Maigret) and Django Reinhardt (jazz guitarist) are another two.

[SteveD]

Could the average Belgian name eight famous Britons? Probably not: it's a language/culture thing.

[Drusilla]

Adolphe Sax- inventor of the saxophone
Jean Baptiste Reinhardt- guitar player
JJ Etienne Lenoir-inventor of the combustion engine
Eddy Merckx-cyclist
Jacky Ickx-Formula 1 driver
Pieter Paul Rubens-painter
Kim Klisters-Tennis player
Hieronymous Bosch-painter
Georges Cuisenairre-mathematicians (I bet your children use cuisenairre rods and blocks at school.)
Audrey Hepburn (or is she Dutch?)
Jaques Brel-singer
G Mercator (the map of the world used by westerners is named after him)- I've added him just in case Audrey Hepburn is Dutch.

[Robert G]

An excellent response from you all. Thank you.

BTW I've just found a website with 259 famous Belgians, and rising! Access it here: http://www.famousbelgians.net/categories.htm

Sorry I troubled you all.

[jno]

someone once suggested to me the equivalent wouldn't be naming eight famous Britons, but eight famous East Anglians (about the same size, though possibly fewer people)... since 1830, when Belgium became a country. Not the easiest!

[mole]

interesting angle if you take it from 1830.... and Drusilla will have to refer to another 2 Belgians in her list as Rubens and Bosch were certainly dead long before then...

[rojash]

I can't believe no-one mentioned Hercule Poirot! OK, he's fictional, but he's also Belgian and famous.

[lankeela]

Hercule Poirot The famous Belgian *****

[lankeela]

OK - 8 famous East Anglians

Horatio Nelson

Martin Brundle

Thomas Paine

Anna Sewell

Edith Cavell

Gillian Shepherd

The Singing Postman

and last but not least Lady Di

[Robert G]

What have I started?

[shaneystar2]

Not that hard to name eight famous East Anglians since 1830 either Jno !
Edith Cavell
Anna Sewell
Rider Haggard
Elizabeth Garret Anderson
Sir John Mills
Jane Lapotaire
Trevor Nunn
Benjamin Britten
Howard Carter
Then we have that band The Darkness and Mylene Klaas and the most infamous East Anglian of all...myself !!!

[jno]

well, my guess is that Nelson, Lady Di, Shaneystar and maybe Howard Carter would be known in Belgium. They stack up fairly well against Herge, Magritte and Hepburn, I suppose!