1863 in Belgium
Events in the year 1863 in Belgium.
Events
- 9 April – Treaty of amity, commerce and navigation with the Kingdom of Italy signed in Turin.
- 12 May – Commercial treaty with the Netherlands, including Dutch agreement to perpetual abolition of tolls on the Scheldt river in return for a payment of 17 million guilders
- 20 May – Commercial treaty with the United States, bringing relations into line with the free trade agreements already signed with France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
- 9 June – Partial legislative elections of 1863
- 16 July – Multilateral treaty for the redemption of the Scheldt tolls signed in Brussels
- 27 July – Commercial treaty with the Austrian Empire, bringing relations into line with the free trade agreements already signed with France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
- 1 August – Clipper Marnix van Sinte-Aldegonde the first ship to sail toll-free from Antwerp to the mouth of the Scheldt.
- 11 August – State visit of Queen Victoria to Belgium.
- 18-22 August – First Catholic Congress in Mechelen.
- * Guild of Saint Thomas and Saint Luke for the study and promotion of Christian art founded
- 19 September – Convention modifying the 1852 postal convention between Belgium and the Office of the Prince of Tour and Taxis signed in Brussels.
- 26 December – Solvay chemical company founded.
Publications
;PeriodicalsAnnuaire de l'Observatoire Royal de Bruxelles, vol. 31La Belgique horticole, edited by Édouard MorrenBulletin du Bibliophile Belge, vol. 19, edited by A. Scheler Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique, second series, vol. 15Collection de précis historiques, vol. 12, edited by Edouard Terwecoren S.J.Dubbele wegwyzer der stad Gent en der provincie Oost-Vlaenderen, vol. 1 Revue belge et étrangère, 15Revue Trimestrielle, vol. 38Le Timbre-Poste begins publication;Studies and reports
- Prosper de Haulleville, Les Catholiques et les libertés constitutionnelles en Belgique
- Émile de Laveleye, Essai sur l'économie rurale de la Belgique
- Louis Galesloot, Procès de François Anneessens: doyen du corps des métiers de Bruxelles, vol. 2
- Jehan le Bel, Les vrayes chroniques, edited by Lambert Polain, vol. 1
Art and architecture
;Performances- 3 January – First performance of Charles Hugo's stage adaptation of Les Misèrables, Théâtre Royal des Galeries, Brussels
Births
- 10 January – Félix Wielemans, soldier
- 3 February – Charles Magnette, politician
- 8 March – Théophile Bovy, journalist
- 3 April – Henry van de Velde, painter
- 21 April – Paul Lebrun, composer
- 25 June – Émile Francqui, philanthropist
- 26 June
- * Paul Pelseneer, biologist
- * Henri Quersin, marksman
- 13 August – Pol Demade, writer
- 21 August – Jules Destrée, politician
- 1 September – Herman Baltia, soldier
- 14 November – Leo Baekeland, chemist
- 10 December – Maurice Hennequin, playwright
Deaths
- 8 February – Martin Martens, botanist and chemist
- 14 May – Emmanuel Noterman, painter
- 18 July – Arnold Timothée de Lasaulx, politician
- 19 July – André-Napoléon Fontainas, politician
- 26 September – Jean Thienpont, politician
- 31 October – Augustus Van Dievoet, judge