1940 in Belgium
Events in the year '''1940 in Belgium'''
Incumbents
- Monarch: Leopold III
- Prime Minister: Hubert Pierlot
- Head of the occupying Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France: Alexander von Falkenhausen
- Head of the administrative staff of the Occupation: Eggert Reeder
Events
- 10 January – Mechelen incident: German military plane crashes near Maasmechelen.
- 26 April – King Leopold III rejects the government's resignation.
- 10 to 28 May – Battle of Belgium
- * 10 to 11 May – Battle of Fort Eben-Emael
- * 12 to 14 May – Battle of Hannut
- * 14 to 15 May – Battle of Gembloux
- * 22 May – Alexander von Falkenhausen appointed to the head of the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France
- * 23 to 28 May – Battle of the Lys
- * 25 May – Leopold III declares that he will remain with his troops and share their fate
- * 25 to 28 May – Vinkt Massacre
- * 26 May – Dunkirk evacuation begins
- * 28 May – Leopold III capitulates to the invading forces, contrary to ministerial advice.
- 31 May – Belgian parliament in exile meets in Limoges
- 6 June – Civil-service secretaries-general empowered to keep Belgian ministries running while the government is in exile.
- 10 June – The International Red Cross estimates Belgian refugees in France to number 2.2 million.
- 28 June – Belgian Labour Party dissolved.
- 15 August – Newspaper La Libre Belgique begins clandestine publication.
- 10 October – Jews banned from public office by decree of the occupying forces.
- 28 October – Belgian government in exile, having been dispersed in France, Spain and Switzerland, re-established in London.
- 19 November – King Leopold III in Berchtesgarden makes a personal appeal to Hitler for the release of Belgian prisoners of war.
- 22 November – Single overarching trade union established.
Births
- 2 January – Florent Bessemans, fencer
- 4 January – Léon Semmeling, footballer
- 18 January – Élisabeth Burdot, journalist
- 5 February – Panamarenko, artist
- 23 February – Remi Vermeiren, banker
- 12 April – José Gotovitch, historian
- 24 May – Hilde Houben-Bertrand, politician
- 6 June – Nicolas Dumont, Olympic athlete
- 7 July – Irène Sweyd, Olympic athlete
- 7 August – Jean-Luc Dehaene, Prime Minister 1992-1999
- 12 October – Yvan Covent, cyclist
- 27 December – William Cliff, poet
Deaths
- 10 January – Pierre Imperiali, politician
- 27 January – Léon Frédéric, painter
- 30 January – André Léon Tonnoir, entomologist
- 10 February – Paulin Ladeuze, theologian
- 11 February – Joseph Henri Honoré Boex, author
- 22 February – Eugène Laermans, painter
- 14 March – Flori van Acker, painter
- 19 March – Gustave Sap, politician
- 29 April – Jules Feller, academician
- 12 May – Michel D'Hooghe, cyclist
- 20 May – Joris Van Severen, far-right politician
- 18 June – Robert Feyerick, Olympic athlete
- 24 June – Frédéric-Vincent Lebbe, missionary
- 29 August – Arthur De Greef, composer
- 30 August — Hélène Mallebrancke, engineer and resister
- 5 September – Charles de Broqueville, former Prime Minister
- 9 September – Albert du Roy de Blicquy, general
- 23 September – Marcel Van Crombrugge, Olympic athlete
- 7 October – Marie de Bièvre, painter
- 17 October – Lucien Linden, botanist
- 3 November – Julien Vervaecke, cyclist
- 8 November – Arthur Vierendeel, civil engineer
- 16 November – Léon Dens, politician