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 1900s Clear ×
Suzanne Lilar
1901 - 1992
Jean Van Houtte
1907 - 1991
Vina Bovy
1900 - 1983
Suzanne Van Damme
1901 - 1986
Charles d'Ydewalle
1901 - 1985
Georges Lonque
1900 - 1967
Yvonne Nèvejean
1900 - 1987
Marc de Hemptinne
1902 - 1986
August Meuleman
1906 - 2000
Paul Guermonprez
1908 - 1944
Marcel Gazelle
1907 - 1969
Albert Billiet
1907 - 1977
Louis Baert
1903 - 1969
Pierre Van Reysschoot
1906 - 1966
Jacques Van Reysschoot
Born 1905
Eddy Blondeel
1906 - 2000
Édouard Dhanis
1902 - 1978
Carlos De Baeck
1906 - 1993
Jacques De Busscher
1902 - 1966
Armand Hacquaert
1906 - 1991
Edward Anseele jr.
1902 - 1981
Hermann Bekaert
1906 - 1989
Robert Demulder
1900 - 1967
Robert Swartelé
1900 - 1967
Jean Delva
1909 - 2003
Édouard Baudry
1905 - 1943