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Gerardus Brackx
Gerardus "Gerard" Brackx (1931, Ostend – 19 September 2011) was a Belgian businessman, pioneer of the Belgian travel business and founder of Jetair. His father was a Catholic businessman who owned a factory which produced washing machines and bicycles. Gerard was the seventh child out of nine. On the verge of World War II, his father died of pneumonia and Gerard had to start help working at the age of 16 to earn money for his family. Career At the age of 24, after finishing school and serving in the army (part of which he spent in Kassel, Germany), he dreamt of a future in cars and travel. He married Diane Provoost, whose father had a garage where he started his career as a salesman. He worked there for five years when he saw the first busses appear in the garage. In 1956, together with his brother-in-law, Roger Provoost, he started organizing bus travels during the summer months (when the buses stood idle) through ''Reiskantoren Royal Tours'' for British tourists visiting the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast. History Origin to Middle Ages In the Early Middle Ages, Ostend was a small village built on the east-end () of an island (originally called Testerep) between the North Sea and a beach lake. Although small, the village rose to the status of "town" around 1265, when the inhabitants were allowed to hold a market and to build a market hall. The major source of income for the inhabitants was fishing. The North Sea coastline has always been rather unstable due to the power of the water. In 1395 the inhabitants decided to build a new Ostend behind large dikes and further away from the always-threatening sea. 15th to 18th century The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemish People
The Flemish or Flemings ( nl, Vlamingen ) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. "''Flemish''" was historically a geographical term, as all inhabitants of the medieval County of Flanders in modern-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands were referred to as "Flemings", irrespective of their ethnicity or language. The contemporary region of Flanders comprises a part of this historical county, as well as parts of the medieval duchy of Brabant and the medieval county of Loon, where the modern national identity and culture gradually formed. History The sense of "Flemish" identity increased significantly after the Belgian Revolution. Prior to this, the term "Vlamingen" in the Dutch language was in first place used for the inhabitants of the former County of Flanders. Flemish, however, had been used since the 14th century to refer to the language and dialects of both the peoples of Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1931 Births
Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. * January 25 – Mohandas Gandhi is again released from imprisonment in India. * January 27 – Pierre Laval forms a government in France. February * February 4 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gives a speech calling for rapid industrialization, arguing that only strong industrialized countries will win wars, while "weak" nations are "beaten". Stalin states: "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us." The first five-year plan in the Soviet Union is intensified, for the industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. * February 10 †... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Businesspeople
Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German * Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language formerly spoken in Gallia Belgica * Belgian Dutch or Flemish, a variant of Dutch *Belgian French, a variant of French * Belgian horse (other), various breeds of horse * Belgian waffle, in culinary contexts * SS ''Belgian'', a cargo ship in service with F Leyland & Co Ltd from 1919 to 1934 *''The Belgian ''The Belgian'' is a 1917 American silent film directed by Sidney Olcott and produced by Sidney Olcott Players with Valentine Grant and Walker Whiteside in the leading roles. It is not known whether the film currently survives. Plot As descr ...'', a 1917 American silent film See also * * Belgica (other) * Belgic (other) {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Real Estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more generally) buildings or housing in general."Real estate": Oxford English Dictionary online: Retrieved September 18, 2011 In terms of law, ''real'' is in relation to land property and is different from personal property while ''estate'' means the "interest" a person has in that land property. Real estate is different from personal property, which is not permanently attached to the land, such as vehicles, boats, jewelry, furniture, tools and the rolling stock of a farm. In the United States, the transfer, owning, or acquisition of real estate can be through business corporations, individuals, nonprofit corporations, fiduciaries, or any legal entity as seen within the law of each U.S. state. History of real estate The natural right of a person t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benidorm
Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though it would not be until the 1950s that it became renowned as a summer destination for people coming from inland Spain, especially Madrid. Today it is known for its hotel industry, beaches, and skyscrapers and receives as many tourists from abroad as from Spain. According to the 2020 census, Benidorm has a permanent population of 70,450 inhabitants, making it the fifth-most populous town in the Alicante province and the ninth in Valencian Community. History It is thought there were settlements in the Benidorm area possibly as far back as 3000 BC, including evidence of Roman and Punic remains. However, settlements in the area were small and it was not until the arrival of the Moors that the local population began to grow during the era of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabena
The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, SN Brussels Airlines was formed through a takeover of former subsidiary Delta Air Transport and took over part of Sabena's assets in February 2002, which became Brussels Airlines after a merger with Virgin Express in March 2007. The airline's corporate headquarters were located in the Sabena House on the grounds of Brussels Airport in Zaventem. History 1923–1939 Sabena began operations on 23 May 1923 as the national carrier of Belgium. The airline was created by the Belgian government after its predecessor SNETA (''Syndicat national pour l'étude des transports aériens'', National Syndicate for the Study of Aerial Transports) - formed in 1919 to pioneer commercial aviation in Belgium - ceased operations. Sabena opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast of Barcelona, to the French border, and thus includes the coastal parts of the province of Girona. In the 1950s, the Costa Brava was identified by the Spanish government and local entrepreneurs as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Europe. The combination of a very good summer climate, nature, excellent beaches and a favourable foreign exchange rate (before the creation of the single European currency), which made Costa Brava an attractive tourist destination, was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal busines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Tyrol
German Tyrol (german: Deutschtirol; it, Tirolo tedesco) is a historical region in the Alps now divided between Austria and Italy. It includes largely ethnic German areas of historical County of Tyrol: the Austrian state of Tyrol (consisting of North Tyrol and East Tyrol) and the province of South Tyrol but not the largely Italian-speaking province of Trentino (formerly '' Welschtirol''). History German Tyrol was historically an integral part of the Habsburg constituent Princely County of Tyrol but, with the imminent collapse of Habsburg Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, areas of the empire with an ethnic German majority began to take actions to form a new state. On 11 November 1918, Emperor Charles I of Austria relinquished power and, on 12 November, these ethnic German areas, including the Province of German Tyrol (German: ''Provinz Deutschtirol'') were declared the Republic of German Austria with the intent of unifying with Germany. However, South Tyrol had been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château fort de Lourdes, a fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its center. In 1858 Lourdes rose to prominence in France and abroad due to the Marian apparitions claimed to have been seen by the peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous, who was later canonized. Shortly thereafter the city with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes became one of the world's most important sites of pilgrimage and religious tourism. History Antiquity The current municipal area of Lourdes was inhabited in prehistoric times. In Roman times it had to be, since the first century BC, an oppidum hill where today stands the fortress, as is testified by the numerous finds that came to light in the second half of the nineteenth century (remains of walls, fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Expo '58
Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) after World War II. Background Expo 58 was the eleventh world's fair hosted by Belgium, and the fifth in Brussels, following the fairs in 1888, 1897, 1910 and 1935. In 1953, Belgium won the bid for the next world's fair, winning out over other European capitals such as Paris and London. Nearly 15,000 workers spent three years building the site on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau, north-west of central Brussels. Many of the buildings were re-used from the 1935 World's Fair, which had been held on the same site. The theme of Expo 58 was ''"Bilan du monde, pour un monde plus humain"'' (in English: "Evalu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kanaal, "The Channel"; german: Ärmelkanal, "Sleeve Channel" ( French: ''la Manche;'' also called the British Channel or simply the Channel) is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover."English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some . The Channel was a key factor in Britain becoming a naval superpower and has been utilised by Britain as a natural def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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