This is a list of notable Belgian-Americans. However, the term Belgian-American is here used in a very liberal way: It includes not only Americans of Belgian descent and Belgians who took American citizenship (Belgian-Americans in the strictest sense), but also Americans born in Belgium, Belgians born in the USA, Belgians who lived for a considerable period of time in the United States and vice versa. All, however, would describe themselves as Belgian-Americans.
A brief bio beside each entry helps to clarify in which of these categories each individual falls.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Belgian American or must have references showing they are Belgian American and are notable.
George Washington Goethals (1858–1928), Brooklyn-born son of Belgian immigrants. Goethals was the first recorded Belgian-American graduate of West Point (where he is buried) and was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt to build the Panama Canal, which he accomplished under budget in 1914.
Henry Hathaway (1898–1985), film director and producer; born Henri Léopold de Fiennes; by right a Belgian marquis, a hereditary title held by his paternal grandfather, who had been charged by his King Leopold I of Belgium to acquire the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands for Belgium; failing to do so, he settled in San Francisco instead of returning home.
Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863–1944), Belgium-born American chemist who invented Velox photographic paper (1893) and Bakelite (1907), an inexpensive, nonflammable, versatile, and popular plastic; in 1978, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Charles Joseph Van Depoele (1846–1892), electrical engineer, inventor, and pioneer in electric railway technology
Désiré Defauw (1885–1960), Belgian-born violinist and conductor. He made his American debut with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Since 1940, Defauw was director and conductor of the Orchestra of the Symphonic Concerts of Montreal. During the following years he conducted the major American Orchestras: the Boston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, with the Chicago Symphony he was Musical Director and Conductor for four years. The Grand Rapids Symphony, and the Chicago Youth Orchestra, he was visiting conductor of orchestral activities at Northwestern University in 1955. Just before his death, he retired as director of the Gary Symphony Orchestra in Indiana.
Jean-Baptiste "Toots" Thielemans (1922–2016), Belgian jazz artist well known for his guitar, harmonica play and also for his highly accomplished professional whistling. He made his big breakthrough when he went on European tour with Benny Goodman in 1950. He moved to America in 1952 (and became a US citizen the same year) where he is extremely well known, especially among the jazz community. Quincy Jones said this about him in 1995: "I can say without hesitation that Toots is one of the greatest musicians of our time. On his instrument he ranks with the best that jazz has ever produced. He goes for the heart and makes you cry. We have worked together more times than I can count and he always keeps me coming back for more". Toots hates his favourite instrument, the harmonica, being called a 'miscellaneous instrument'. Indeed, the late Clifford Brown said: "Toots, the way you play the harmonica they should not call it a miscellaneous instrument". His successes include harmonica solo contributions to film scores for Midnight Cowboy, The Getaway, Sugarland Express, Cinderella Liberty, Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight), Jean de Florette and others. In 1962, he had a massive hit with 'Bluesette'. He also did many concerts and recordings with legends such as George Shearing, Ella Fitzgerald, Quincy Jones, Bill Evans, Jaco Pastorius, Natalie Cole, Pat Metheny, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. Many people also will remember him from the music used for the 'Old Spice' TV commercial.
Bob Beauprez (1948–), member of the United States House of Representatives
Charles Benedict Calvert (1808–1864), U.S. Congressman from the sixth district of Maryland, serving one term, 1861—1863; his mother, Rosalie Eugenia Stier, was the daughter of a wealthy Belgian aristocrat, Baron Henri Joseph Stier (1743–1821) and his wife Marie Louise Peeters
Peter Minuit (1589–1638), Belgium-born in the Duchy of Cleves, in present-day Germany; Director-General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1633 and founder of the Swedish colony of New Sweden in 1638; by tradition he purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans (Algonquins), on May 24, 1626
Louis C. Rabaut (1886–1961), Democratic congressman representing Michigan's 14th congressional district
Anne-Marie Slaughter (1958–), Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State. She was Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University from 2002 to 2009. Slaughter was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia by her American father and Belgian mother. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton in 1980 where she majored in the Woodrow Wilson School and received a certificate in European cultural studies. She received her M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in international relations from Oxford in 1982 and 1992, respectively, and her law degree from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1985.[6]
Father Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801–1873), Belgian-born Roman Catholic priest who became the most trusted of the white men among the Native Americans of the Western United States in the mid-19th century
Louis Hennepin, baptized Father Antoine (1626 – c. 1705), Flemish Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect Order (French: Récollets) and an explorer of the interior of North America; discovered Niagara Falls, Hannibal, Missouri and was the first to place the name 'Chicago' on a map (1683)
Archbishop Charles John Seghers, the Apostle of Alaska (1839–1886) was consecrated Bishop of Vancouver Island on June 29, 1873. On November 28, 1886, while resting in a deserted cabin in the Alaskan foothills, Bishop Seghers was shot through the heart. His body was borne back to a grief-stricken people and his remains rest under the high altar in the Cathedral at Victoria.
James Oliver Van de Velde (1795–1855), Belgian-born US Catholic bishop; served as the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 1849-1853; in 1853, he was transferred to Natchez, Mississippi and became bishop of the Diocese of Natchez, where he served until his death
Adrien-Joseph Croquet, born in Braine l'Alleud; sent in 1859 to Oregon; 1860-1898: recorded tribal births, deaths, and confirmations at the Grand Ronde Reservation. His work constitutes the most complete genealogical record
Henry Gabriels (1838–1921), Belgian-born second Catholic bishop of Ogdensburg, New York (1891-1921). Gabriels Sanatorium opened in 1897, for treatment of Tuberculosis invalids in the Adirondacks. It was named in honor of the Right Rev. Bishop Henry Gabriëls who had urged the Sisters of Mercy to attempt the establishment. It was the first sanatorium in the Adirondacks to admit black patients
Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863–1944), Belgium-born American chemist who invented Velox photographic paper (1893) and Bakelite (1907), an inexpensive, nonflammable, versatile, and popular plastic; in 1978, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Maurice Anthony Biot (1905–1985), Belgian-American physicist and the founder of the theory of poroelasticity
Karel Bossart (1904–1975), pioneering rocket designer and 'father (creator) of the Atlas ICBM'
Julius Arthur Nieuwland (1878–1936), Belgian-born Holy Cross priest and professor of chemistry and botany at the University of Notre Dame; known for his contributions to acetylene research and the discovery of synthetic rubber which eventually led to the discovery of Neoprene by DuPont
Nicolas Ruwet (1932–2001), linguist, literary critic and musical analyst
Charles Schepens (1912–2006), influential American ophthalmologist, regarded by many in the profession as "the father of modern retinal surgery"
Roger DeCoster (1944–), legendary Belgian-born motocross racer. His name is almost synonymous with the sport of motocross. He won five 500cc Motocross World Championships and tallied a record 36 500cc Grand Prix victories. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, becoming only the seventh motorcyclist in the Hall. In 1999, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau (1898–1965), founder, player, and the first coach of the Green Bay Packers professional football team; Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin is named after him
Tuffy Leemans (1912–1979), football player and coach
May Sarton (1912–1995), Belgian-born American poet, novelist, and memoirist; daughter of George Sarton; many of her novels and poems are pellucid reflections of the lesbian experience
^Jane Weiner LePage (1931–2008) Women composers, conductors, musicians of the 20th century, volume ii pps.191-220 Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchen, New Jersey and London (1983)
^Jane Weiner LePage (1931–2008) Women composers, conductors and musicians of the 20th century, volume ii, p. 191 Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, New Jersey and London (1983)
