title: 1953 in Belgium
text: # 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
  