Baudouin (US: ; 7 September 1930 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo.
Baudouin was the elder son of King Leopold III (19011983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (19051935). Because he and his wife, Queen Fabiola, had no children, at Baudouin's death the crown passed to his younger brother, King Albert II.
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951. On the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad.
His act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet, who presently moved to London to form a government-in-exile, while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, and under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favour of his son, Prince Baudouin, in July 1951.
Leopold's first wife, Astrid of Sweden, was killed in a road accident while on a driving holiday in Switzerland in August 1935, being much mourned by the public. His second morganatic marriage, to Lilian Baels in captivity in 1941, was not valid under Belgian law, and she was never permitted the title of queen.
1951Jul, 16
King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin I of Belgium.
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Events on 1951
- 11Apr
President Truman's relief of General Douglas MacArthur
Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea. - 22Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong. - 25Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong. - 3May
Harry Truman
The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman. - 15Oct
Combined oral contraceptive pill
Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducts the very last step of the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first three oral contraceptives.