- Bart Somers
Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers (born 12 may 1964 in Mechelen) is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen and chairman of the party VLD. He obtained a law degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Leuven, Belgium). - Godfried Danneels
"His Eminence" Godfried Cardinal Danneels (born June 4, 1933) is a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the Archbishop of Brussels-Mechelen and the chairman of the episcopal conference of his native country. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. Danneels is considered an outspoken liberal, advocating a different view on contraception and a greater role for women and the laity as a whole in the Church. - Erwin Koeman
Erwin Koeman (born September 20, 1961 in Zaandam) is a Dutch football manager and former player. He is the older brother of Ronald Koeman. Koeman was a midfielder for the Dutch national team that won the Euro 1988 and featured in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In total Erwin Koeman was capped 31 times, scoring twice between 1983 and 1994. - Luc van den Brande
Luc Constant Hélène Van den Brande is a Flemish politician, member of the CD&V and was Minister-president of Flanders from 21 February 1992 until 13 July 1999. - Jef Denyn
Jef Denyn (1862-1941) was a carillon player from Mechelen, Belgium. In 1922, he founded the world's first and most renowned international higher institute of campanology, later named after him, the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" (Dutch: "Koninklijke Beiaardschool "Jef Denyn") in Mechelen. - Herman de Coninck
Herman de Coninck (21 February 1944-22 May 1997) was a Flemish poet, essayist, journalist and publisher. Born in Mechelen, Belgium, his parents ran a bookshop. He attended the Sint-Rombouts College in Mechelen where he contributed to the school newspaper. Determined to become a writer, he studied Germanic philology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. While in Leuven he wrote for the University paper "Universitas". - Alice Nahon
Alice Nahon (Grote Markt 58, Antwerp, 16 August 1896-Carnotstraat 17, Antwerp, 21 May, 1933) was a Flemish poet. She was the third child in a family of eleven children. Her father was born in the Netherlands but of French descent, and her mother, Julia Gijsemans, was born in Putte, nearby Mechelen, where Alice spent much time during her childhood. - Marc Wilmots
Marc Wilmots is a former Belgian football player. He is considered by many as one of the best players in his country's history. In his club career that started in 1987, Wilmots played for Sint-Truidense, Mechelen, Standard Liège, Schalke 04, and Bordeaux. He retired in 2003 after his second stint with Schalke. In Belgium, he received the nickname of the "Taureau de Dongelberg" (The Bull from Dongelberg). - Rik Wouters
Rik Wouters (August 21, 1882, Mechelen-July 11, 1916, Amsterdam) was a Belgian fauvist painter and sculptor. - Flor Peeters
Flor Peeters (July 4, 1903 - July 4, 1986) was a Belgian composer, organist and teacher. Born and raised in Tielen, he was the youngest child in a family of eleven. At sixteen, Peeters began his studies at the Lemmens Institute in Mechelen, where he studied with Lodewijk Mortelmans, Jules van Nuffel and Oscar Depuydt. Depuydt was well known for his collaboration with the Desmet brothers on the first set of Gregorian accompaniments produced by the Lemmens Institute. - Mark Uytterhoeven
Mark Uytterhoeven (Mechelen, 6 March 1957) is a Belgian television presenter and actor. Uytterhoeven appeared in the Belgian Dutch language comedy TV series "Alles Kan Beter" in which he presented between late 1997 and 1999. He is also credited with writing the script for "Man bijt hond" in 2001, and was host of the late night show "De Laatste Show" until Frieda Van Wijck took it over from him in 2006. - Rembert Dodoens
Rembert Dodoens (Mechelen June 29, 1517 - Leyden March 10, 1585) was a Flemish physician and botanist, also known under his Latinized name Rembertus Dodonaeus. In 1530 he started his studies of medicine, cosmography and geography at the University of Leuven, where he graduated in 1535. He established himself as a physician in Mechelen in 1538. He married Kathelijne De Bruyn(e) in 1539. He had a short stay in Basel (1542-1546). - Stijn Vreven
Stijn Vreven (born July 18, 1973) is a Belgian footballer who plays for ADO Den Haag. He is a defender who plays as a Wing Back on the right side of the pitch. Vreven's career began when he signed a professional contract with Y.R. K.V. Mechelen, making his first first-team appearance in 1993, at the age of 20. After four seasons in Mechelen he moved to K.A.A. Gent where he developed into a better player for another two seasons. - Julien Stevens
Julien Stevens (Mechelen, February 25 1943) is a retired Belgian cyclist from 1963 to 1977. Stevens spent the most part of his career helping other cyclists, such as Rik Van Steenbergen, Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx. In 1969, in the Road World Championship in Zolder he got together with Dutchman Harm Ottenbros permission from the main group with top favorites Adorni, Van Looy and Merckx, to go for the victory. Unfortunately for Stevens, he lost the sprint to Ottenbros. - Jozef-Ernest van Roey
Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey (Belgium, Vorselaar, 13 January, 1874-Mechelen, 6 August, 1961), was Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium. He was ordained priest on 18 September, 1897, and he was appointed Archbishop on 12 March 1925. - August de Boeck
Julianus Marie August de Boeck was a Belgian composer, organist and music pedagogue. From 1880 he studied organ at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels under Alphonse Mailly from whom he became an assistant until 1902. In 1889 he met the young Paul Gilson who became his close friend, and, despite their same age, his teacher for orchestration and his motivator for composition. He became an organist at various churches in Belgian villages (1892-1894 in Merchtem, … - Ferdinand Verbiest
Father Ferdinand Verbiest was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China. He is known as Nan Huairen (南懷仁) in Chinese. Born at Pittem near Kortrijk, Belgium, he studied in Leuven, Mechelen, Sevilla and Rome. He entered the Society of Jesus on September 2 1641. In 1658 he accompanied Father Martino Martini to China and reached Macao in 1659. He led the mission in Shanxi until 1660, when he was called to assist, and later replace, … - Hans Somers
Hans Somers (born March 9, 1978 in Mechelen) is a football attacking midfielder from Belgium, who is playing for FC Utrecht since the 2005-2005 season in the Dutch highest league, Eredivisie. Previously he served Lierse SK (1996-2001) and Trabzonspor (2001-2004). - Jules van Nuffel
Jules Van Nuffel (b. March 21 1883, Hemiksem, Antwerp, Belgium - d. June 25 1953, Wilrijk, Antwerp) was a musicologist, composer, and renowned expert on religious music. At the Grand Seminary of Mechelen, he studied for the priesthood, in addition to piano, violin, organ, harmony and counterpoint. Later he founded St. Rombouts' Choir, and directed this famous choir until 1949. Jules Van Nuffel was also a prominent composer of liturgical works. - Saint Rumbold
Saint Rumbold (or Rumold, Rumoldus, Rombout, Rombaut) (d. ca. 775 AD) was an Irish or Scottish missionary. He was consecrated a regionary bishop at Rome and assumedly worked under Saint Willibrord in Holland and Brabant. He was martyred near Mechelen by two men whom he had denounced for their evil ways. He is said to have been the brother of Saint Himelin. Hugh Ward (ca. - Kennet Andersson
Kennet Andersson is a former Swedish football (soccer) player, a key member of the Swedish national team that finished third in the 1994 World Cup. He is 193 cm (6'3) and 92kg (200lbs). On the club level, Andersson played for Tunafors (1985), Eskilstuna (1985-88), Göteborg (1988-91), Mechelen (1991-92), Norrköping (1993), Lille (1993-94), Caen (1994-95), Bari (1995-96), Bologna (1996-99 and 1999-2000), Lazio (1999), and Fenerbahçe (2000-02). - Bueno de Mesquita
Abraham ('Appie') Bueno de Mesquita (Amsterdam, July 23, 1918 - Lelystad, August 19, 2005), commonly known under his stage name Bueno de Mesquita was a Dutch comedian, actor and stage artist, well known for his ability to make funny faces. His comical talents literally saved his life. In World War II, the (Sephardi) Jewish Bueno de Mesquita was imprisoned in the Dossin Barracks in Mechelen, Belgium, and was scheduled to be deported to Auschwitz. - Hans Vredeman de Vries
Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527 - c. 1607) was a Dutch Renaissance architect and engineer. Born in Leeuwarden and grown up in Friesland, in 1546 he went to Amsterdam and Kampen. In 1549 he moved to Mechelen where the Superior Court was seating. Sebastian, his brother was the organplayer in the local church. Vredeman de Vries designed ornaments for merry parades of Charles V and Philip II. Studying Vitruvius and Sebastiano Serlio, … - David Vinckboons
David Vinckboons (bapt. Aug 13 1576, Mechelen - 1629 Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter of Flemish origin. His Protestant family moved to Antwerp around 1580, and then to Middelburg after the Spanish occupation of Antwerp in 1585 and finally to Amsterdam. He does not appear to have had any teacher other than his father, a painter on linen, an art form practised mainly in his birthplace of Mechelen. - Mayken Verhulst
Mayken Verhulst (Mechelen, 1518 - Mechelen, 1599) was a sixteenth-century miniature, tempera and watercolor painter, identified by Lodovico Guicciardini in 1567 as one of the most important female artists in the Low Countries. - Ruckers
Hans Ruckers (1540s - 1598) was born in Mechelen. In 1575 he married Adriana Cnaeps; harpsichord maker Marten van der Biest was a witness at the wedding, though it is not known what their working relationship was. Hans Ruckers was a Catholic and had 11 children, two of which became harpsichord makers, and his daughter Catharina (to whom harpsichord maker Willem Gompaerts (c.1534 - after 1600) was godfather) married into the instrument-making Couchet family, … - Jan van Beers
Jan van Beers, Flemish poet, usually called " the elder " to distinguish him from his son, Jan van Beers, the well-known painter, was born at Antwerp. He was essentially a Netherlander, though politically a Belgian, expressing his thoughts in the same language as any North Netherland writer. In fact, the poems of Jan van Beers are perhaps more popular in the Netherlands than in Belgium, … - Lodewijk de Koninck
Lodewijk De Koninck (Hoogstraten, 30 October, 1838-Retie, 22 March 1924) was a Flemish writer. He studied at the school for teachers Lier and became a teacher in Antwerp. Later he became an inspector of the Catholic primary schools and a teacher at the school for teachers in Mechelen. As a writer he wrote poems which reflected his strict catholic belief. He is best known for the epic "Het menschdom verlost" (first edition 1872) (E: Humanity saved), … - Mike Verstraeten
Mike Verstraeten (born August 12, 1967 in Mechelen, Flanders) is a Belgian politician and a former football player. His former clubs include Germinal Ekeren and R.S.C. Anderlecht. Capped for the Belgium national team, Verstraeten played one game at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. - Peter Dens
Peter Dens (12 September 1690 - 15 February 1775) was a Flemish Roman Catholic theologian He was born at Boom near Antwerp. Most of his life was spent in the archiepiscopal college of Mechelen, where he was for twelve years reader in theology and for forty president. His great work was the "Theologia moralis et dogmatica", a compendium in catechetical form of Roman Catholic doctrine and ethics which has been much used as a students textbook. - Quentin Matsys
Quentin Matsys, his first name also recorded as Quinten or Kwinten and his last name as Massys, Metsys, or Matsijs (1466 - 1530), was a painter in the Flemish tradition and a founder of the Antwerp school. He was born at Leuven, where he was trained as an ironsmith. Near the front of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp is a wrought-iron well, … - Engelbert Sterckx
Cardinal Engelbert Sterckx (Ophem, 2 November, 1792-4 December, 1867), was Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium. He was ordained as a priest on 18 February 1815, and he was appointed Archbishop on 24 February 1832. - Victor-Auguste-Isidore Dechamps
Cardinal Victor-Auguste-Isidore Dechamps (Melle, 6 December, 1810-29 September, 1883) was Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium. He was ordained as a priest on 20 December 1834, and professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer on 13 June 1836. On 25 September 1865, he was appointed Bishop of Namur, Belgium, and he was appointed Archbishop on 24 February 1832. He was elevated to Cardinal on 15 March 1875, … - Hayden Foxe
Hayden Vernon Foxe (born June 23, 1977 in Sydney) is an Australian football (soccer) player currently playing for A-League club Perth Glory after being released from Leeds United. He has also been capped by the Australian national team, and was a member of the national squad at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Beginning his career at Sydney club Blacktown City he moved to Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam where he played from 1995-97. - François Houtart
François Houtart is a Belgian sociologist and catholic priest. He studied philosophy and theology at the seminary of Mechelen (Belgium) and became a priest in 1949. He earned a masters degree in political and social sciences at the Catholic university of Leuven (Belgium). He earned a degree at the International Superior Institute of Urbanism (Brussels, Belgium). - Jean-Baptiste Janssens
Jean-Baptiste Janssens, S.J. was the twenty-seventh Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Mechelen, Belgium. - John Heywood
John Heywood (c.1497-c.1580) was an English writer known for his plays, poems, and collection of proverbs. He was born in or near London, but fled to Europe to avoid religious persecution for his Catholic faith and is believed to have died in Mechelen, Belgium. His son was the poet and translator Jasper Heywood. - Philibert Mees
Philibert Mees (Mechelen, May 13 1929 - Mechelen, July 2 2006) was a Flemish composer and pianist. He was murdered in July 2006. In 1952, Mees obtained a degree at the "Koninklijk Vlaams Conservatorium", the royal conservatory of Antwerp. He studied under the pianists Stevan Bergmann and Geza Anda. Mees formed a duo with BRT violist Roger Nauwelaers since the 1980s. In 1999, Mees was given the trophy "Fuga", … - Leopold Flam
Leopold Flam was a Belgian philosopher. Together with Alphonse Dewaelhens, Chaïm Perelman and Rudolf Boehm, he was one of leading philosophers of Belgium from the sixties until the eighties. He studied social sciences, political history, philosophy and physics at the University of Ghent and obtained a PhD in history. During World War II he was imprisoned in the Dossin station in Mechelen and in the Buchenwald concentration camp. - Humbertus Guilielmus de Precipiano
Humbertus Guilielmus de Precipiano (Rougemont, France, 12 September, 1627-Mechelen, 9 June, 1711) was Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium. He was appointed Archbishop on 12 July 1689.
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