List of People From Brussels - Brussels As A Safe Harbor

Brussels As A Safe Harbor

Brussels was known to be a safe harbor for artists and thinkers facing political (or simply criminal) persecution. This was particularly true during the 19th century, although it was a cause of some debate, and policies were prone to change (e.g. the case of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who were expulsed from the city in 1848).

• José de San Martin (1824–1830), Argentine General and 1st President of Peru
• Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), French poet
• Louis Blanc (1811–1882), French poet, French politician and historian
• Georges Boulanger (1837–1891), French general and politician
• Jacques Louis David (1748–1825), French painter
• Alexandre Dumas, père (1802–1870), French author, known for his historical novels
• Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), German social scientist and political philosopher, co-author of The Communist Manifesto
• Willem Frederik Hermans (1921–1995), Dutch writer
• Victor Hugo (1802–1885), one of the most influential French writers of the 19th century. Completed Les Misérables in Brussels.
• Joachim Lelewel (1786-1861), Polish historian and politician, associate of Karl Marx, lived in Brussels from 1833 to 1861
• Karl Marx (1818–1883), German political philosopher, wrote The Communist Manifesto in Brussels.
• Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker) (1820–1887), Dutch author, wrote his masterpiece Max Havelaar in 1859 in Brussels.
• Cyprian Norwid (1821-1883), Polish poet, stayed in Brussels from August 1846 to January 1847 after his expulsion from Prussia.
• Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865), French philosopher, the first individual to call himself an "anarchist"
• Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), French sculptor
• Paul Verlaine (1844–1896), French poet. Was joined briefly by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud.