André Waterkeyn
Illustration — Portrait of civil engineer André Waterkeyn, creator of the Atomium in Brussels, in front of a model of his creation (in 1962). André Waterkeyn (23 August 1917 – 4 October 2005) was a Belgian engineer, born in Wimbledon, London, best known for creating the Atomium. Waterkeyn was the economic director of Fabrimetal (now Agoria), a federation of metallurgical companies when in 1954 he was asked to design a building for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58) that would symbolise Belgian engineering skills.
André Waterkeyn
Patrick Waterkeyn · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Born
- 1917 · Wimbledon.
- Died
- 2005 · Brussels.
- Nationality
- Belgium
- Occupation
- engineer · architect · field hockey player · olympic competitor
- Education
- Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) · Collège Saint-Michel
- Known for
- Atomium
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Portrait of civil engineer André Waterkeyn, creator of the Atomium in Brussels, in front of a model of his creation (in 1962). André Waterkeyn (23 August 1917 – 4 October 2005) was a Belgian engineer, born in Wimbledon, London, best known for creating the Atomium. Waterkeyn was the economic director of Fabrimetal (now Agoria), a federation of metallurgical companies when in 1954 he was asked to design a building for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58) that would symbolise Belgian engineering skills.
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wikidata · Q523346 · wikipedia · André Waterkeyn
In this article
Identity
Identity
Waterkeyn owned the copyrights of all reproductions of the Atomium until he passed it over to the organisation owning the original building around the year 2000. He was chairman of the board of the Atomium until 2002, when his son took over. He died in Brussels in 2005. Waterkeyn was also a field hockey player. At the 1948 London Olympics he participated with the Belgian team in the 1948 hockey tournament, playing the position of forward.
André Waterkeyn is recorded with the occupation field hockey player. Recorded with the occupation Olympic competitor. Recorded as engineer, architect, field hockey player and olympic competitor.
The Belgian Pavilion built for the Brussels' 1958 world fair.
Guy Fagot
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1917
André Waterkeyn was born on 23 August 1917.
2005
André Waterkeyn died on 4 October 2005.
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Wimbledon.
Birth place
Brussels.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q523346: André Waterkeyn
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “André Waterkeyn”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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