51.0534° N, 3.7250° E
GENT
Most Famous People Born in Gent, Belgium
- Notable people
- 850
- Peak decade
- 1980s
- Median birth year
- 1897
- Most distinctive
- Rower 9.6×
Charles V's birthplace and a Flemish Primitive stronghold — the Painter bench tracks Van Eyck's altarpiece and the long wake of Hugo van der Goes and Théo van Rysselberghe. The real oddity is a Rower cohort wildly out of proportion to anything else (thank the Watersportbaan) sitting next to a Conductor line that runs from Jacob Obrecht straight through Herreweghe's early-music revival.
One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Gent during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 64 notable births.
What Gent Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Politician is Gent's biggest profession — 17% of all notables (146).
Gent over-indexes on rower — 9.6× the global rate.
Gent under-produces actor — only 0.4× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Gent's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Politics & Law
- Art & Design
- Music
- Writing
- Science
- Other
- Filtered to 1880s Clear ×
Jean Ray (author)
1887 - 1964
George Sarton
1884 - 1956
Frits Van den Berghe
1883 - 1939
Gustave Van de Woestijne
1881 - 1947
George Van Biesbroeck
1880 - 1974
Albert Servaes
1883 - 1966
Charles de Visscher
1884 - 1973
Désiré Defauw
1885 - 1960
Léon de Smet
1881 - 1966
Robert Herberigs
1886 - 1974
Polydore Veirman
1881 - 1951
Maurice Langaskens
1884 - 1946
Fernand De Visscher
1885 - 1964
Marcel Van Crombrugge
1880 - 1940
Oscar De Cock
Born 1881
Alfred Van Landeghem
Born 1887
André de Kerchove de Denterghem
1885 - 1945
Georges Mys
1880 - 1952
Cécile Cauterman
1882 - 1957
Julien Vande Veegaete
1886 - 1960
Alfred Schoep
1881 - 1966
Marcel Morimont
1886 - 1900
Julien Paul Blitz
1885 - 1951
François Vergucht
1887 - 1900
Jan Frans Cantré
1886 - 1931
Robert Aerens
1883 - 1969
Rodolphe Poma
1884 - 1954
Ferdinand Minnaert
1887 - 1975
Caroline Stiénon du Pré
1883 - 1979
Paul De Backer
1883 - 1956
André de Cock
1880 - 1964
August Klipstein
1885 - 1951
Charles Leirens
1888 - 1963
Felix Klipstein
1880 - 1941
Karel Van Damme
1887 - 1951
Alfons Colle
1882 - 1968
Rudolf Vercammen
1880 - 1966
Robert Lentz
1885 - 1949
Albéric de Formanoir de la Cazerie
1882 - 1954
Honorine Deschrijver
1887 - 1977
Maurice de Keghel
1883 - 1965
Robert Petitjean
1887 - 1951
René Schietse
Born 1889
Maurice Hamelinck
1882 - 1934
Henri Deraedt
1888 - 1956
Gustave van Belle
1889 - 1969