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Marie José of Belgium

Ostend, 4 Aug 1906 – Thônex, 27 Jan 2001

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 4 Aug 1906

    Born in Ostend

  2. 1934–1943

    4 children are born

  3. 1946

    Consort of Italy

  4. 27 Jan 2001

    Dies in Thônex, aged 94

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 4

During her lifetime

She lived through 11 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Ostend.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1900s · Marie is born in Ostend

In the news1900

First old-age pension law passed

In 1900, the first law on old-age pensions was approved in Belgium.

Getting around

Long Commutes for Industrial Workers

Around 1900, one in five Belgian industrial workers used cheap weekly train passes, sometimes commuting up to three hours each way to work.

At the table

Rising sugar consumption

Between 1900 and 1905, the annual average sugar consumption per capita in Belgium doubled from 5 to 10 kilograms as prices dropped.

Powered flight. The Wright brothers flew a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903; in 1906 Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis in Paris.Around the world · 1903–1906

Powered flight. The Wright brothers flew a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903; in 1906 Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis in Paris.

Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright (credited as photographers) [1], [2] · public domain

What people wore

Formal Men's Dress and Posture

For men of social standing, a top hat was essential for daily work, and linen shirts required crisp white stiffening, including a high collar that enforced an upright posture.

Music

The Unique Sound of Talerschwingen

Talerschwingen is a unique performance where a coin is rhythmically rolled inside an earthenware bowl to create a drone, often accompanying natural yodeling.

Daily life

Water and coin-operated electricity

Running water was not always available in every house, and many people still fetched water from public fountains. When electricity was introduced, some meters required inserting 0.10 franc coins to keep the lights on.