Events from the year 1914 in Belgium.

Incumbents

*Monarch - Albert I *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Charles de Broqueville Charles Marie Pierre Albert, 1st Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the prime minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. Before 1914 Charles de Broqueville was born into an old noble family with its roots in F ...

Events

;May * 24 May – Belgian general election, 1914 ;July * 25 July – General mobilisation for the eventuality of war. ;August * 4 August – German invasion with attendant atrocities: beginning of Belgian involvement in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. * 5 to 16 August –

Battle of Liège A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. * 12 August –

Battle of Haelen (1914) The Battle of Halen, also known as the Battle of the Silver Helmets ( nl, Slag der Zilveren Helmen, french: Bataille des casques d'argent) because of the many cavalry helmets left behind on the battlefield by the German cuirassiers, took place on ...

* 20 to 25 August –

Siege of Namur (1914) The siege of Namur (french: Siège de Namur) was a battle between Belgian and German forces around the fortified city of Namur during the First World War. Namur was defended by a ring of modern fortresses, known as the Fortified Position of Namu ...

* 21 August –

Battle of Charleroi The Battle of Charleroi (french: Bataille de Charleroi) or the Battle of the Sambre, was fought on 21 August 1914, by the French Fifth Army and the German 2nd and 3rd armies, during the Battle of the Frontiers. The French were planning an attack a ...

* 23 August – Massacre at Dinant. * 25 August – Burning of Leuven University Library. ;September * 28 September – Siege of Antwerp begins ;October * 16 to 31 October –

Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (french: Bataille de l'Yser, nl, Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee C ...

* 19 October –

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...

begins ;November * German occupation of Belgium begins to take shape * 22 November –

ends

Publications

Hippolyte Fierens-Gevaert Hippolyte Gevaert or Fierens-Gevaert (1870, Brussels - 1926, Liège) was a Belgian art historian, philosopher, art critic, singer and writer. Life He had studied at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles in 1890 and won first prize for singing. Th ...

, ''The Brussels Gallery of Old Masters'' (Brussels, G. van Oest) *

Paul Hamelius Paul Hamelius or Hamélius (1868–1922) was a Belgian philologist who produced the two-volume Early English Text Society edition of the Travels of Sir John Mandeville (1919, 1923). Life Hamelius was born on 26 April 1868 in Ypres, West Flanders, ...

, ''The Siege of Liège: A Personal Narrative'' (London, T. Werner Laurie)

Births

*17 January – Théo Lefèvre, Prime Minister 1961-1965 (died 1973) *12 April –

Jan van Cauwelaert Jan van Cauwelaert, C.I.C.M. (12 April 1914 – 18 August 2016) was a Belgian-Congolese bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Upon his death at the age of 102, he was one of the oldest bishops in the Church, the oldest European-born bishop and t ...

, bishop (died 2016) *3 June –

Karel Kaers Karel Kaers (3 June 1914 – 20 December 1972) was a Belgian professional cyclist with 30 wins. Kaers was born in Vosselaar. In 1934 he became the youngest world road champion, winning in Leipzig at 20. It was the first time he had ridden the ...

, cyclist (died 1972) *17 June **

Adriaan Pattin Adriaan Pattin (1914–2005) was a Belgian historian of medieval philosophy. His 1966 edition of the Pseudo-Aristotelian ''Liber de Causis'', although intended to be "provisional", was for decades the best version available to scholars. Life Pattin ...

, historian of medieval philosophy (died 2005) **

John Van Alphen Jan "John" van Alphen (17 June 1914 – 19 December 1961) was a Belgian footballer, born in Antwerp, Belgium. He played as a midfielder for Beerschot VAC. With the anversois, he twice won the Belgian Championship, in 1938 and 1939. He ...

, footballer (died 1961)

Deaths

*January 16 - Alfred de Vinck de Winnezeele, Catholic politician *April 21 - Abel de Kerchove d'Exaerde, politician *July 6 - Albert de Beauffort, politician *August 4 - Antoine-Adolphe Fonck, 1st Belgian soldier killed in World War I *

August 19 Events Pre-1600 *295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War. *43 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, later know ...

Alphonse Six Alphonse Léopold Bauduin Six (1 January 1890 – 19 August 1914) was a Belgian football player. Six was born in Bruges and is mainly remembered for his goal-scoring capacities. In his period with Cercle Brugge he scored 93 times in only 89 mat ...

, footballer, 24 (killed in action) *November 17 - Werner de Mérode, Catholic politician (b.1855) *December 9 -

Arthur Van Gehuchten Arthur Van (or van) Gehuchten (20 April 1861 – 9 December 1914) was a Belgian anatomist, born in Antwerp. He was professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Leuven until the start of World War I in 1914. He moved to Englan ...

, biologist *December 19 - Édouard Brunard, Liberal politician (b.1843)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1914 1910s in Belgium Years of the 20th century in Belgium