August Adriaan Pulle

August Adrian Pulle (Arnhem, January 10, 1878 - Utrecht, February 28, 1955) was a Dutch professor and botanist. He made important contributions to knowledge of the Flora of Suriname and the island of New Guinea.
Personal life.
Education.
Pulle attended high school in Arnhem and studied pharmacy at the Utrecht University, in 1899 he took his bachelor's degree. He attended lectures of the plant physiologist F. A. F. C. Went and decided to continue his studies in zoology and botany. In 1900, Pulle was appointed as assistant at the botanical laboratory and herbarium, in 1904 he was appointed teacher of natural history at the Higher secondary school in Utrecht. In 1906 Pulle made lectures in botany and plant systematics and since 1908 also in plant geography, he took part (in 1902 and 1903) of the Saramacca expedition to Suriname and this study also determined the content of his thesis: ""An enumeration of the vascular plants known from Surinam, together with their distribution and synonymy", which he got in 1906 a PhD doctorate in zoology and botany. That same year he made a second study trip to Buitenzorg, Java, Indonesia. He made part of the Third South New Guinea expedition in 1912 and 1913 and also wrote a travelogue about it (to the snowy mountains of New Guinea).
Career.
On May 18, 1914, Pulle was appointed a professor of botany and plant geography at the University of Utrecht and director of the Botanical Museum and Herbarium there, he focused his research on the identification and description of the plants in Suriname and the former Dutch East Indies. In 1920 he went back to Suriname to specialize in the flora of this country, and in 1932 published the first part of his standard Flora of Suriname. Pulle was acting director of the Hortus, but, from 1920 to 1949, and the first director of the Cantonspark in Baarn. In 1938 he published the textbook "Compendium of terminology, nomenclature and systematics of seed plants"". He was retired in 1948 but remained active almost until his death.
Pulle was honorary president of the first South American Botanical Congress in Rio de Janeiro in 1938 and rector from 1929-1930.


Jacob Dissius

Jacob Abrahamsz. Dissius (1653 - 1695) was a Dutch typographer and printer. He is most notable as an art collector and for his links to Johannes Vermeer - his collection included 21 Vermeer works (including "The Milkmaid", "Portrait of a Young Woman", "A Girl Asleep", "Woman Holding a Balance" and "The Music Lesson") and in 1680 he married Madgdalene, daughter and sole heir of Vermeer's main patron Pieter van Ruijven. Dissius died in 1695 and his collection was auctioned off in Amsterdam the following year.
Biography.
Jacob Dissius was baptised on 23 November 1653 in Delft as the son of Maria Cloeting and the printer Abraham Dissius. He married Magdalena Pieters van Ruijven, daughter of Pieter van Ruijven, born in 1655. Dissius' father-in-law was one of the wealthier citizens of Delft, and became a patron of Vermeer. She inherited her parent's money and art collection after the death of her mother in 1681. When she died childless in 1682, he inherited her collection of Vermeer paintings and other works of art. He was the owner of the "Golden ABC" ("Het Gulden ABC"), a print shop on the of Delft.
Jacob Dissius died in October 1695 (he was buried on 14 October), and his art collection was sold on 16 May 1696 by art dealer Gerard Hoet in Amsterdam.
Art collection.
Three documents are crucial in reconstructing the art collection of Jacob Dissius: the inventory of his estate in April 1683, after the death of his parents-in-law and his wife; a document listing the division of this inheritance between Jacob and his father Abraham Dissius, which was united in Jacob's possession after the death of his father in 1694; and the list of the auction of his collection after his death in October 1695.
Jan Vermeer.
Of the 21 paintings by Vermeer in the Dissius auction of 1696, 15 are usually matched to currently known paintings, while 6 others are either lost or unidentified.


Mary Louisa Molesworth

Mary Louisa Molesworth, "née" Stewart (29 May 1839 – 20 January 1921) was an English writer of children's stories who wrote for children under the name of Mrs Molesworth. Her first novels, for adult readers, "Lover and Husband" (1869) to "Cicely" (1874), appeared under the pseudonym of Ennis Graham. Her name occasionally appears in print as M. L. S. Molesworth.
Life.
She was born in Rotterdam, a daughter of Charles Augustus Stewart (1809–1873) who later became a rich merchant in Manchester and his wife Agnes Janet Wilson (1810–1883). Mary had three brothers and two sisters. She was educated in Great Britain and Switzerland: much of her girlhood was spent in Manchester. In 1861 she married Major R. Molesworth, nephew of Viscount Molesworth; they legally separated in 1879.
Mrs Molesworth is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as "Tell Me a Story" (1875), "Carrots" (1876), "The Cuckoo Clock" (1877), "The Tapestry Room" (1879), and "A Christmas Child" (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery," while "The Carved Lions" (1895) "is probably her masterpiece." In the judgement of Roger Lancelyn Green:
Typical of the time, her young child characters often use a lisping style, and words may be misspelt to represent children's speech—"jography" for geography, for instance.
She took an interest in supernatural fiction. In 1888, she published a collection of supernatural tales under the title "Four Ghost Stories," and in 1896 a similar collection of six tales under the title "Uncanny Tales." In addition to those, her volume "Studies and Stories" includes a ghost story entitled "Old Gervais" and her "Summer Stories for Boys and Girls" includes "Not exactly a ghost story."
A new edition of "The Cuckoo Clock" was published in 1914.
She died in 1921 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.


Isa Hoes

Isa Hoes (; born 13 June 1967) is a Dutch actress and voice actress. She is best known for her role as Myriam van der Pol in the ongoing Dutch soap opera "Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden".
Biography.
Isa Hoes was born on 13 June 1967 in Leiden in the Netherlands. She is also the younger sister of Onno Hoes, who was the mayor of Maastricht as of 1 November 2010 till 30 June 2015. Hoes graduated from the Toneelacademie Maastricht (Academy of Dramatic Arts).
She frequently dubs characters in anime, cartoons, and movies. Recently, she has become the voice of Heather from "Total Drama" in the Dutch version of the series.
Personal life.
Isa Hoes was married to the actor Antonie Kamerling. Hoes and Kamerling met on set of the soap opera "Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden". The couple later got married on 26 June 1997 in Venice, Italy. The couple had two children named Merlijn and Vlinder. On 6 October 2010, Kamerling ended his life.


Burchard Joan Elias

Burchard Joan Elias (12 July 1799 – 1 May 1871) was the last Governor-General of the Dutch West Indies, a colony that existed between 1828 and 1845 as a merger of Surinam and Curaçao and Dependencies. After Elias left office, the colony was again split. Before his governorship, Elias served as resident of Cirebon (1830–1838) and as Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Colonies (1838–1842).
Biography.
Burchard Joan Elias was born in Amsterdam to Gerbrand Elias and Henriëtte Alexandrine Adélaïde von Deneken. In 1823, he married Cornelia Dorothea Adelheid Scholten van Aschat. After her death in 1836, he married her sister Lidie Henriëtte Scholten van Aschat in 1837.
Burchard Joan Elias was the father of Henri Alexander Elias, who served as Governor of the Dutch Gold Coast.


Carla Quint

Cornelia Antonia "Carla" Quint (born 22 September 1972) was a Dutch female water polo player. She was a member of the Netherlands women's national water polo team.
She competed with the team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She was also part of the national team at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships and 2003 World Aquatics Championships.


Johanna Clementina Hudig

Johanna Clementina Hudig, also known as Han Hudig (Groningen, March 27, 1907 - Amersfoort, July 29, 1996) was the first female judge in the Netherlands. From 1947 to 1977, she was a juvenile judge attached to the Rotterdam court. From 1957 to 1972, she was attached to the University of Utrecht as extraordinary professor of children's rights and child protection.


USS Seven Seas (IX-68)

USS "Seven Seas" (IX-68) was built by Bergsund M.V. Atkieb in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1912 and served the Swedish Navy as the training ship "Abraham Rydberg". Acquired by the United States Navy from William S. Gubelmann of Marine Airways, Roslyn, New York, on 10 April 1942 and placed in service on 5 May 1942.
Service history.
"Seven Seas" proceeded to the 7th Naval District on 8 May 1942, arriving at Key West, Florida, later that month. On 9 April, the auxiliary, full-rigged ship assumed duties as station ship at Key West.
"Seven Seas" remained at Key West until after the heyday of coastal U-boat strikes. As the dangers lessened, she was placed out of service and laid up at the Coast Guard Patrol Base, Port Everglades, Florida, on 22 May 1944. "Seven Seas" was struck from the Navy List on 29 July 1944.


Antonius Mathijsen

Antonius Mathijsen (November 4, 1805 – June 15, 1878) was a Dutch army surgeon who first used plaster of Paris to fixate broken bones in a plaster cast.
Biography.
Early life and education.
Antonius Mathijsen was born November 4, 1805, to a village physician in Budel, a Dutch town on the Belgian border. He was educated at hospitals in Maastricht, Brussels and the army medical school in Utrecht.
Career.
He received his commission as medical officer 3d class in the Royal Netherlands Army in 1828. In 1838 he participated in the 10-day war of Belgian Revolution.
While working in Haarlem at the military hospital in 1851, Mathijsen first used plaster of Paris as a bandage. Until then a Belgian method was used with starch that took up to a day to dry and harden. Across the street he watched workers repairing cracks in the church with strips of jute dunked in plaster of Paris. He reasoned that a jute bandage soaked in water and plaster of Paris applied in the same way as the Belgian method would harden within a few minutes and thus made a better fixation for broken bones. After testing his idea on chickens he published his findings in a Dutch medical magazine "Repertorium" in February 1852. In 1853 his idea was praised by a research panel for its value to the military, "especially on the battlefield". Haarlemmers remembered him as "Uncle Plaster" or "Oom Gips".
He retired from the army in 1868 as first medical officer first class (Lieutenant Colonel).
Death.
Mathijsen died June 15, 1878, aged 72, in Hamont.
Memorials.
Memorial monuments are located in both Budel and Hamont. The last Dutch army hospital in Utrecht was named after Dr Mathijsen until the army hospital merged with the navy hospital in the early 1990s.


Vechter Jansz van Teffelen

Vechter Jansz. van Teffelen (1563–1619), was a Dutch Golden Age malt maker and mayor of Haarlem.
He was the son of Jan Thaemsz. and Aleyd Vechters. He married Anneke Claesdr. of Assendelft in 1601. He became a judge, magistrate and mayor of Haarlem. He was lieutenant of the St. George militia from 1606-1609, and captain 1612-1615. He was portrayed by Frans Hals in "The Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company in 1616".
He died in Haarlem.


The Destroyed City

The Destroyed City (Dutch: "De verwoeste stad") is a bronze memorial sculpture in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It commemorates the German bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940, which destroyed the medieval centre of the city. Unveiled in 1953, it was designated as a Dutch national monument (Rijksmonument) in 2010. It is the largest sculpture by the Russian-born French sculptor Ossip Zadkine, his best known work, and the best known sculpture in Rotterdam.
The high sculpture depicts an stylized human figure leaning against a tree stump. The figure holds both hands aloft, with its head thrown back as if crying in grief, and a gaping hole in its chest and abdomen. The absence of a heart is said to symbolise the destruction of the centre of Rotterdam. Zadkine described it as "A cry of horror against the inhuman brutality of this act of tyranny". The sculpture has been compared to the figure with arms raised in terror on the far right of Picasso's painting "Guernica". It stands on a tapering high plinth of Labrador granite blocks (reportedly, the stone had been intended for a sculpture of Adolf Hitler in Berlin). It is sited on the north side of the early 17th century dock basin of in the centre of Rotterdam.
Zadkine's work was influenced by Rodin and by Cubism. He was inspired to create the sculpture shortly after the end of the Second World War, probably 1946 or 1947, when his train passed through the ruined centre of Rotterdam while travelling from Paris to visit his friend, the doctor and painter , in the Dutch town of Deurne. Zadkine created a high model in terracotta, intended as a memorial to the victims of war, which was exhibited in Berlin and Prague in 1947. The terracotta was damaged in transit, so Zadkine created a new model in plaster about high, which was exhibited in Brussels and at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1948. Zadkine was commissioned to create a full-size sculpture in bronze by , the managing director of the De Bijenkorf chain of Dutch department stores, whose Rotterdam store was heavily damaged in the German bombing in 1940. A bronze model was exhibited at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam in December 1949.
The full-size bronze sculpture was created from 1951 to 1953 and cast by the Susse Frères foundry in Paris. It was presented to the city as an anonymous gift, on condition that its location should be chosen by Zadkine, and it should remain permanently in place; the identity of the donor became known in 1978. The modern sculpture was controversial, with the objections of , director of Rotterdam's Department of Public Works (), published in the . Tillema condemned the sculpture as a "madly demonic scourge" that would "paralyze the heart of my city forever". Despite his objections, ultimately the gift was accepted, and Tillema was responsible for designing the plinth. The statue was donated, but installation, including the plinth, cost 24,500 guilders.
It was unveiled by , the mayor or Rotterdam, on 15 May 1953 on , where it stands nowadays outside the Maritime Museum Rotterdam. It was moved approximately from its original position in 1975. It was restored while temporarily removed in 2005 to allow construction works, and returned to its place in 2007. It was registered as a "Rijksmonument" (number 530902) in 2010. A proposal made in 2014 to move the sculpture again to a prominent position outside the new Rotterdam Centraal station was soon abandoned.
It has received many nicknames from the residents of Rotterdam, including "Stad zonder Hart" (City without a heart), "Zadkini", “Jan Gat” (Jan Hole) and "Jan met de Handjes" (Jan with the little hands).
In February 2019, the sculpture and its emotional impact were discussed in the BBC Radio 4 programme "Pen Pals".


Old City Hall (The Hague)

The Old City Hall in The Hague is a Renaissance style building on the Groenmarkt near the Grote Kerk. It is the former seat of the city's government, and remains a place where residents hold civic wedding ceremonies, and where the Royal family register their family births. Other families do this at the current city hall located in the large white building on the Kalvermarkt, near the Public library.
History.
The town hall (built in 1565 and restored and enlarged in 1882) contains a historical picture gallery. The building was considered very large and imposing in its day; just after it was built in 1566 Lodovico Guicciardini referred to The Hague as "the most beautiful, richest, and biggest village of Europe". However, The Hague was not a walled town and therefore Guicciardini categorized it with the villages. For a village, the city hall must have seemed quite grand. That The Hague was thus vulnerable to attack makes it all the more amazing that the old City Hall survived the Protestant Revolution without damage to older ornaments and windows.
The interior of the building underwent a number of changes over time, including restoration of the interior decorations that ended in 1773. The statues on the facade depict "Faith", "Hope", "Love", "Strength", and "Justice". They were made by the Hague sculptor Jan Baptist Xavery before 1742.
A number of paintings and objects from The Hague's artists of the Confrerie Pictura are found inside the building.


Bart Lambriex

 Bart Lambriex (born 3 October 1998 in Haarlem) is a sailor from the Netherlands.
By finishing on the 8th place ath the 2019 49er & 49er FX World Championships on December 8 2019 in Auckland together with his partner Pim van Vugt, he grabbed one of the four available international qualification spots for the 2020 Summer Olympics.) On October 4 2020 by finishing on the 6th place at the 2020 49er & 49er FX & Nacra17 European Championships in Lake Attersee in Austria, he also met the full national standards for qualifying for the above.


Milk strike

The milk strike () was a strike in Nazi-occupied Oslo on 8 and 9 September 1941. It led to strong reprisals from the German occupiers, in the form of martial law, court-martial, mass arrests, two executions and several long-term jail sentences.
Start.
The strike started among workers at the shipyard Akers mekaniske verksted and the industry site Christiania Spigerverk, as a spontaneous protest against the milk rationing announced on 8 September 1941. The workers lost their daily quota of milk, which had been given to them until then. The protests spread to other companies. On 9 September the number of strikers was estimated to 20-25,000, at around fifty industry sites.
German reaction.
On 10 September the German Reichskommissar Josef Terboven declared martial law in Oslo and the neighboring municipality Aker. Two union leaders, Viggo Hansteen and Rolf Wickstrøm, were sentenced to death by a court-martial, and immediately executed by an SS Sonderkommando led by Oscar Hans. Later Ludvik Buland, Harry Vestli and Josef Larsson were also sentenced to death, but their convictions were changed to imprisonment for life in German jails. Both Buland and Vestli later died in German prisons. Albert Raaen was arrested.
The mass arrests had direct consequences for the leadership of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. Until then the Confederation had had a certain degree of independence with Buland as deputy chairman and Hansteen with a leading role. In May 1941 Håkon Meyer had proposed that in a reorganization of the Confederation, Hansteen would continue his job as legal consultant. After the milk strike the Confederation underwent "Nazification", with members of the Fascist party Nasjonal Samling installed as leaders. Erling Olsen became acting chairman on 10 September, and continued as deputy chairman when Odd Fossum was installed as chairman on 11 September. Kåre Rein was installed as secretary. I. B. Aase continued in his position as treasurer.
New, comissarian leaders of the unions were installed as well. These were Birger Aamodt in the Union of Iron and Metalworkers, Thorvald Apeland in the Union of Food, Beverage and Allied Workers, Michael Berg in the Union of Employees in Commerce and Offices, Nils Bunæs in the Union of General Workers, Petter Holen in the Union of Railway Workers, Rolf H. Jahrmann in the Union of Forestry and Land Workers, Håkon Meyer in the Union of Municipal Employees, Trygve Rokling in the Transport Workers' Union, Aksel Schultz in the Norsk Murerforbund and Karsten Werner in the Norsk Centralforening for Boktrykkere. Borger Haugar led the Union of Clothing Workers. The comissarian leaders were hastily hired, so Haugar and Bunæs were removed after a short time and replaced with "more competent people".
Furthermore, on 11 September, rector of the University of Oslo, Didrik Arup Seip, was dismissed from his position and arrested. Also other University staff, including the professors Anton Wilhelm Brøgger and Otto Lous Mohr, were arrested. On 12 September former Chief of Police in Oslo Kristian Welhaven, and the future Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen were arrested. Also journalists and newspaper editors, including Olaf Gjerløw and Fredrik Ramm, were arrested. In total around 300 people were arrested during the martial law period, which lasted until 16 September.
A crackdown on certain parts of Norwegian society, especially left-wingers in the trade unions, was in some ways imminent after Operation Barbarossa. The incidents signalled a harder regime from the German occupiers. The executions of Hansteen and Wickstrøm became a lasting symbol for the Norwegian resistance.


Vital Forsikring

Vital Forsikring ASA, branded as Vital is Norway's largest life insurance and pension insurance company, and part of the DnB NOR Group. Though Vital has roots back to 1847, it was created in its present form by a merger between Vital and Gjensidige NOR's life insurance section after the mother companies merged in 2003. Vital has its headquarters in Bergen, Norway and has total assets of .
Vital also owns a large portfolio of real estate, valued about NOK 24 billion. This includes the entire portfolio of real estate that is owned by the entire DnB NOR group in Norway.
History.
Vital has its roots back to 1847 when Gjensidige was created. Gjensidige merged with Glitne (1968), Samtrygd (1985), Forenede Forsikring (1992) and Sparebanken NOR Forsikring (1999).
The brand name Vital was created in 1990 when Hygea (founded in 1884) and Norsk Kollektiv Pensjonskasse (founded in 1938) merged to found Vital. Vital was bought by Den norske Bank in 1996. In 2003, after the mother companies of Gjensidge and Vital, respectively Den norske Bank and Gjensidige NOR were merged, the two insurance companies were also merged.


VAPLITE

Vilna Akademia Proletarskoi LITEratury (ВАПЛІТЕ) (, Free Academy of Proletarian Literature) was a literary union in Ukraine. It was established in Kharkiv and existed from January, 1926 to January 28, 1928.
Accepting the official requirements of the Communist Party, in literary policy VAPLITE has taken an independent position and was standing on the grounds of creation the new Ukrainian literature by qualified artists who put in front of them the demand of improvement and mastering the best achievements of western European culture. The virtual leader of the union was Mykola Khvylovy; the president were Mykhailo Yalovy, later - Mykola Kulish; and the secretary was Arkadiy Liubchenko.
In the organization actively worked, the above-mentioned, Mykola Khvylovy, Mykhailo Yalovy, Oles Dosvitny, Mykola Kulish, Hryhorii Epik, Pavlo Tychyna, Ivan Senchenko, Oleksa Slisarenko, Petro Panch, Mykola Bazhan, Yuriy Yanovskyi, Yuriy Smolych, Ivan Dniprovsky, Oleksandr Kopylenko etc.
Prior to the organization of the association the major literary associations were the Union of Proletarian Writers "Hart" and the Union of Peasant Writers "Pluh". Those organizations were mostly culturally enlightening which in actuality distracted them from their literary artistic goals.
In 1927 VAPLITE was issuing its magazine "VAPLITE".
The views of Mykola Khvylovy led to criticism from the Party and government personnel of the Ukrainian SSR. Especially sharp attacks suffered his work, "Waldshnepi". Due to constant persecutions VAPLITE was forced to self-dissolve in 1928. The members of VAPLITE continued their literary activity in the literary almanac "Literary Fair" (1928–29) and the organization "Politfront". The members of VAPLITE became one of the first victims of Stalin regime's repressions.
Mission.
Organization was based on a notion that the creation of modern Ukrainian literature can be promoted by learning from the best works of Western European culture.
Despite agreeing to strict bureaucratic limitations made by the communist party, in questions related to literary agenda VAPLITE had an independent stance and believed in founding the new Ukrainian literature by qualified artists who aimed at self-improvement and researching and adapting best practices of Western culture. The leader of VAPLITE was Mykola Khvylovy, the one to proclaim their famous motto "Away from Moscow!". The presidents of the organization was Mykhailo Yalovy (later Mykola Kulish), while Arkadiy Liubchenko was the secretary.
Activites.
Despite the fact that the members of this group used to belong to different parties, also studying different styles and directions in artistic creativity, VAPLITE was an ideological group. Their leading idea was the revival of the Ukrainian nation.
They paid great attention to the study of European languages.
Thanks to the contribution of Mykola Khvylovy who is considered the creator of a new worldview and ideology, in the activities of the literary association, a new idea of the image of Ukraine, the nature of Ukrainian culture and spirituality gradually began to form.
In 1926, two collections were published - "VAPLITE, the first notebook" (with articles and statements) and "VAPLITE, the first almanac" (works of art), and in 1927 - six issues of the two-month magazine "VAPLITE", which published art works, criticism, theoretical articles, current chronicle of literary events, etc. From the very beginning, the participants and the magazine came under the close scrutiny of official circles. The ideological criticism of VAPLITE and Mykola Khvylovy himself intensified and became especially coordinated after the formation of Molodnyak and VUSPP (All-Ukrainian Union of Proletarian Writers). In 1927, VAPLITE published the magazine VAPLITE, which published, among others: Nikifor Shcherbina and others.


Jan Franse Verzijl

Jan Franse Verzijl (1599, Gouda – 1647, Gouda), was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter.
Biography.
Houbraken listed him with the Gouda painters Jan Damesz de Veth, Jan en Pieter Donker as noteworthy artists that he intended to include in his book of biographies. His source was "Beschrijving der stad Gouda" by Ignatius Walvis.
According to the RKD he was a follower of Caravaggio and is known for works in schuilkerkken. In 1644 he painted the regents of the orphanage of Gouda with a self-portrait of himself standing behind his brother-in-law Hart on the left. After his death his widow founded the Harten hofje in Gouda that was torn down in 1965.


History of Falkenberg

The history of Falkenberg is, to a smaller or larger extent, known since the late 13th century, when the town starts to appear in written sources. The town might have taken over the position as a local power center from a location in Stafsinge. It was then Danish, and would remain so up till 1645, with some minor interruptions.
From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War (1563-1570) a second town, "Ny-Falkenberg" ("New Falkenberg") was located close to the town. The fort from which the fiefdom had been run was destroyed by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson's troops in 1434, and would not be rebuilt, hence marking the end of the fiefdom. The town gained its market rights in 1558.
Better infrastructure in the latter part of the 19th century, meant that the town break a long period of stagnation and see some substantial growth. The industralisation process started at the late 19th/early 20th century. In the 20th century the town has continued to growth, both in terms of population and size. For the first time it has come to include areas on the southern strand of river Ätran.
The middle ages.
In the late 13th century, the Danish king built a fort on the southern strand of river Ätran. It was given the name Falkenberg ("Falcon" + "mountain"), and would late give the town its name. It is not known wherefrom the fort got its name. What is known is that falconry has taken place in the area. Notes in Hallandia antiqua et hodierna, pointing out a specific hill as the "Falcon mountain", is unverified.
The northern strand of the river was from time to time Norwegian or Swedish. There a trading centre known as "Ätraby" developed. Its church Saint Lawrence church, was built at around 1300. The settlement might have developed in competition with an earlier power center in Stafsinge. The settlement might have existed in 1256, as Haakon IV of Norway destroyed a market town ("Kaupstadh") at river Ätran. Whether this market town was Falkenberg or the earlier power center is unknown.
Several royal meeting took place in or around Falkenberg in the late 13th/early 14th century. On these meetings marriages were negotiated. It was from Falkenberg that Christopher issued the market town rights for Halmstad.
The fort was destroyed by the men of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson in 1434 and was not rebuilt. However, the trading centre took over its name. From the 14th century and on to the Northern Seven Years' War (1563-1570) a second town, "Ny-Falkenberg" ("New Falkenberg"), was located close to the town. Its main street was located where "Tröingevägen" is today, north east of the hospital.
Modern period (-1860).
Falkenberg was, together with the rest of the county, ceded to Sweden in the mid 17th century. By then, it had been heavily affected by the many wars which since the 13th century had ravaged the county. Christer Bonde, president of the Swedish National Board of Trade described it as a "minor stain", after his tour of inspection in the conquered territories. He was not alone. Several other notes from this time mentions the town in similar, unfavourable, words. The town had then, and would for quite some time, about 200 people, mainly working with farming. Farming and fishing continued to be the major trade in the town into the mid 19th century.
The Swedish state had an intention to limit the number of towns with the right to trade internationally (Sw. "stapelstäder"). Hence, the town lost these rights in 1660, had them returned in 1679 (during the Scanian War), and finally lost them again in 1724. A long battle with the state about the rights ensued. It would take until 1866 before the town regained the rights.
In 1660 the down suffered a major fire, in which 16 of the houses was lost. It was followed by several fires in the first half of the 18th century (1706, 1708, 1718, 1725, 1732 and 1743). As a result of all these fires, thatched roofs were forbidden. They were often replaced with brick roofs. The last major fire took place in 1841.
A register of the townspeople's occupations in 1737 reveals two bakers, a glassmaker, a gold smith, a gloves maker, a hat maker, a wheel maker, a copper smith, a potter, a mason, a painter, , three shoemakers, two tailors, a butcher, three smiths, four lumbermen, a weaver, four inn owners, twelve seamen and fishers and twelve workers. From the 18th century and onwards more and more potteries were built, the most well known Törngrens krukmakeri.
Salmon fishing has in all likelihood been carried out in river Ätran since ancient times. It is mentioned from the 16th century and onwards. Hallandia antiqua et hodierna describes it as the best in Halland. The good fishing-waters draw many Englishmen to the town in the 19th. This early tourism is described in "Days in Falkenberg - A Record of Sport in Sweden", a book written in 1884 by A. M. Wilkinsson, a lawyer from London. Among those fishing were Sir Hyde Parker and a son to Thomas Babington Macaulay. At the end of the 19th century the town gained about one fifth of its revenue from the fishing. Nowadays the revenue from the fishing is estimated to be of the order of five million SEK.
The Falkenberg Bridge was built in the mid 18th century. The current town hall (Falkenbergs town hall) was built in 1826, although earlier town halls had existed at the same spot.
It was suggested in the early 1860s that the town should have a town council. Up until then the decisions had been made at assemblies, where all those attending and with a right to vote could do so. After some early opposition the town council was introduced in 1865.
The town starts to grow (1860-).
From the 1820s and onwards action had been taken to improve the state of the Port of Falkenberg.
In the mid 19th century the need for a better harbour became desperate. Hallands Ångbåtsaktiebolag ("Halland Steamboat Inc.") had begun traffic along the westcoast, but refused to stop in Falkenberg, due to the poor state of the port. At the same time the importance of the port grew, as it was needed for the export of timber from the inland. The maximum depth in the harbour was 9 feet (2.7 meters), and it was only 6 feet (1.8 meters) at the quay. Hence, the boats often had to anchor at some distance out at sea, where the goods were transferred to smaller boats, which were able to use the harbour.
The limited depth was caused by sand drifting towards the harbour, due to underwater streams. In order to increase the depth a dredge was bought, at a cost of 9 000 Swedish riksdaler. Over the coming decades the dredge struggled to keep the depth. In 1890 the port once again lost the steamboat traffic. In 1909–1910 the northern wharf was extended and in the end of 1910 money was put up to build a 2,000 meter long breakwater and to extend the southern wharf. These projects took until 1926 to finish. These works proved successful, as the depth was increased to five meters and the dredge could be rented out.
The first plans for a railway between Falkenberg and Halmstad were discussed in 1881. As a result, Mellersta Hallands järnväg AB was formed, seated in Falkenberg. The stock company was successful in issuing stocks. With support by the Halland County Council and the state it would not only build the track, but also extend it to Varberg.
The work on the railway began in 1884, and in 1885 it reached Falkenberg. Two different stretches were suggested; one longer, northern, which would pass through the upper parts of Storgatan and Marknadsgatan; one short, southern, which would pass Tullkammaregatan and Storgatan. The latter alternative was cheaper and was chosen. As a consequence, the railway would pass through the remains of the old fort. The railway proved to be an economic success. When it was nationalised in 1895, it gave the town a return of 58 725 Swedish kronor on a 130 500 kronor investment.
The first telegraph station was opened in 1869. The town was connected to the national telephone grid in 1894. As the communications became better and better, the town gained a stronger role as the chief town for the surrounding countryside.
AB. Dan. Lundgrens leather factory was founded in 1834, and was for a long time one of the largest companies in the town. Bryggeriaktiebolaget Falken was founded in 1896, and has since been one of the largest employers in the town. Doktorspromenaden (The Doctor's Walk) was constructed in 1862.
The registers tell about barber-surgeons in the towns since the 17th century. From 1849 it had a town medical officer. The county council granted money for a cottage hospital in 1878, which was inaugurated four years later. The hospital facilities grew in numbers in the early 20th century, and in 1911 the county council decided to make it a general hospital, with a capacity of 34 beds.
The Herting mansion was bought by the town in 1901. The purchase was motivated by plans to build a hydro power plant; plans that were realized a few years later. The power plant has since been expanded step by step. Initially the power was too low to keep up with the demand, and the electricity had to be rationed. The problem was rectified by said expansions, as well as with the purchase of electricity from the Yngeredsfors power station, upstreams Ätran.
Following the threat of a cholera epidemic in 1892 an epidemic hospital was built in 1897. The building was used until 1925. It does nowadays belong to the Falkenbergs gymnasieskola and is known as the "yellow villa". The building could not always host all the patients, and in those cases the Herting Sawmill was used to cater for the rest. Between 1925 and 1950 the epidemic hospital was located at Tallgläntan, however from 1933 and onwards it was for children only.
The 20th century has seen the town develop as a beach resort, in particular along Skrea Strand. By 1914 it had 14 cabins, by 1928 it had increased to 300 and nowadays there are about 1,600. From the 1930s and onwards some restaurants and a hotel has been established in the area to cater for the needs of the tourists.
The town begun to expand administratively in 1907 when Herting was incorporated, albeit with protests from Skrea, to which it had previously belonged. Further incorporation took place in 1936–1937, when Arvidstorp, become a part of the town. In that case the feelings had been the opposite, as Arvidstorp had struggled for over 20 years to become part of the town. In 1950 a minor part of Vinberg was transferred to the town and in 1951-1952 the incorporation of Skrea took place. As a result of the 1971 municipal reform the town is now the seat of Falkenberg Municipality. A new town hall was built in 1960.
Falkenbergs Football Club was founded in 1894 as the town's first major sports club. It was followed in 1906 by Falkenberg Women Gymnastics Club. Falkenberg Arena was built in 1921. Falkenbergs FF was founded in 1928 and Falkenbergs BTK in 1925. In the 1940s and 1950s a heated debate took place on whether to broad the old Falkenberg Bridge or not. The matter was taken to national level and as an end result it was decided to leave the bridge untouched, but increase its capacity by building a footbridge, thereby leaving the entire bridge to the cars, without the need to share it with the pedestrians.


Michiel van Veen

 Michiel Sjouke van Veen (born 20 March 1971 in Groningen) is a Dutch politician. As a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) he was an MP from 20 September 2012 to 30 November 2016. In the House he was replaced by Jock Geselschap. Van Veen subsequently became mayor of Gemert-Bakel. Previously he was an alderman of Cuijk from 2010 to 2012.


Abraham Staal

Abraham Jacobsz Staal (1752 – April 5, 1804) was a Dutch Mennonite teacher at Goes (1779), Bolsward (1787) and Leeuwarden (1788) who combined sermons with revolution. He became known in the wider world as "arendsneus" ("eagle nose"). He features in Gerrit Paape's book "De Knorrepot en de Menschenvriend" as the character "minister Langhals".
Staal studied in Amsterdam until 1778; his fellow students were Wijbo Fijnje and François Adriaan van der Kemp. On 8 May 1787, Staal accepted an appointment as a teacher in Bolsward, and also from Dokkum. The Mennonite municipality of Goes, consisting of 14 members, of which the majority had for the last 50 years been in that of Middelburg. Nothing was known of revolutionary activities in Bolsward during the time of the Patriots, although the Mennonites were quite strongly represented in the local voluntary schutterij and were sure to be lent a willing ear by him. In Leeuwarden, Abraham Staal became part of the hard core of political activists. In 1796, he was appointed by the people's representatives to be a raadsheer in the Court of Friesland (1796), together with the journalist Paape. Both had no legal schooling, but were appointed because of their political experience. Within a year Staal and Paape got into difficulties for their fanaticism, especially after a small popular revolt in Kollum. On the advice of a commission, in which Eise Eisinga played a part, Paape was expelled a few months later.
After the coup in January 1798, Staal was put under house arrest in Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, where the prisoners could walk in the garden, but not speak whilst there.


Cornelis de Graeff

Cornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van (Zuid-)Polsbroek (15 October 1599 – 4 May 1664) was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the sudden death of stadholder William II of Orange. Like his father Jacob Dircksz de Graeff, he opposed the house of Orange, and was the moderate successor to the republican Andries Bicker. In the mid 17th century he controlled the city's finances and politics and, in close cooperation with his brother Andries de Graeff and their nephew Johan de Witt, the Netherlands political system.
Cornelis de Graeff followed in his father footsteps and, between 1643 and 1664, was appointed mayor some ten times. De Graeff was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the republican political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’, as opposed to the Royalists.
Cornelis de Graeff was also the founder of a regent dynasty that retained power and influence for centuries and produced a number of ministers. He was Lord of the semisouverain Fief ("allodiale hoge heerlijkheid") Zuidpolsbroek and an ("Lord of the Manor") of Sloten, Sloterdijk, Nieuwer-Amstel, Osdorp and Amstelveen, near Amsterdam, and castlelord of Ilpenstein. De Graeff was also President of the Dutch East Indies Company, and a chiefcouncillor of the Admiralty of Amsterdam. Like his brother, Andries De Graeff, he was an art collector and patron of the arts.
During his life De Graeff was often called "Polsbroek" or "Lord Polsbroek".
Family De Graeff.
Origin.
Cornelis de Graeff was the oldest son of Jacob Dircksz de Graeff, mayor of Amsterdam and Vrijheer of Zuid-Polsbroek, and his wife Aeltje Boelens Loen, member of the family Boelens Loen, one of the oldest patrician families of Amsterdsm. He grew up in the Niezel, a small street not far from the Oude Kerk. De Graeff was crippled for life in the left arm by a childhood accident, as can be seen in his painting.
At twenty he went to Paris and in 1633 he married Geertruid Overlander (1609–1634), daughter of Volkert Overlander, whose stepson was Frans Banning Cocq, the captain in Rembrandt's "Night Watch". She died only a few months later and he remarried with Catharina Hooft, nineteen years younger and his first wife's cousin (her mother was another Geertruid Overlander, 1577–1653, the sister of Catharinas father). She was the daughter of Pieter Jansz Hooft, and relative to Amsterdam mayor Cornelis Pietersz. Hooft and to the renowned P. C. Hooft of the Muiderslot. Her mother was Geertruid Overlander, daughter of Volkert Overlander. CThe coiple De Graeff-Hooft had two children: Pieter de Graeff and Jacob de Graeff. The married couple inhabited a fine building with precious woodwork, not far from the city hall, at what is now Herengracht 216.
Influence.
Both brothers Cornelis and Andries de Graeff were very critical of the Orange family’s influence. Together with the Republican political leader Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the De Graeff brothers strived for the abolition of stadtholdership. They desired the full sovereignty of the individual regions in a form in which the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands was not ruled by a single person. Instead of a sovereign (or stadtholder) the political and military power was lodged with the States General and with the regents of the cities in Holland.
During the two decades the De Graeff family had a leading role in the Amsterdam administration, the city was at the peak of its political power. This period was also referred to by Republicans as the ‘Ware Vrijheid’ (True Freedom). It was the First Stadtholderless Period which lasted from 1650 to 1672. During these twenty years, the regents from Holland and in particular those of Amsterdam, controlled the republic. The city was flush with self-confidence and liked to compare itself to the famous Republic of Rome. Even without a stadtholder, things seemed to be going well for the Republic and its regents both politically and economically.
Cornelis de Graeff and his younger brother Andries de Graeff – who after Cornelis's death succeeded him as regent and mayor – busied themselves with art and genealogy, working on their lineage. Of his five brothers and sisters, four married a Bicker, who also originated from the Niezel. Around 1650, De Graeff founded a country house, now known as the Palace Soestdijk, which was later sold by his son Jacob to stadholder William III, Prince of Orange in 1674.
As the first Statesman of Amsterdam and Holland.
Cornelis was a merchant and administrator of the VOC, and from 1639 a member of the vroedschap and in 1643–1662 mayor ten times (by turn as magnificus, or chairing mayor with the deciding vote) in the difficult times of the First Stadtholderless Period.
He began as a captain at the schutterij, and it was his company that was painted in 1642 by Jacob Adriaenszoon Backer (to be seen in the Rijkmuseum Amsterdam). In 1645 Cornelis became an advisor of the States of Holland and West Friesland. In 1648 De Graeff was one of the main figures behind the building of a new city hall on the Dam, that was inaugurated in 1655. In the failed attack on Amsterdam in 1650, De Graeff realised that Andries, Cornelis and the other Bickers had to leave the vroedschap. De Graeff was one of the prime movers behind the Peace of Münster in 1648 and the Act of Seclusion in 1654, in which William III was excluded from the office of Stadtholder. He reached the height of his power as chairing mayor of Amsterdam, together with Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen. Cornelis de Graeff was brilliant not only in living languages, but also in Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic. He never went to church, but only for political reasons. It was probably due to his influence that Nieuwe Kerk was built without a tower. He was the patron of Vondel and Jan Vos and commissioned eight paintings from Govert Flinck for the city hall.
De Graeff and Johan de Witt: "The true Freedom".
Politically important as well as personally satisfying was De Graeff's ties with his niece Wendela Bicker's husband Johan de Witt. De Witt eagerly sought De Graeff's advice and support and also enjoyed his clearness of mind and warm hospitality. Their relationship combined the closeness of family affection and the mutual respect of two strong minds as De Graeff was De Witt's equal as no one else was in Dutch politics at the time. In 1653 De Graeff made Johan de Witt a 'Grand Pensionary', a sort of chairman, of the States of Holland.
De Graeff at the war between Sweden and Poland.
Amsterdam and De Graeff were at the high point of their power and in 1656 mounted an expedition under Michiel de Ruyter to the Mediterranean Sea and - in Charles X Gustav of Sweden's war against Poland - another under Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam to the Baltic Sea. Fortunately for the Netherlands, this war ended in Danzig being declared neutral. The four strong-headed mayors decided to send Coenraad van Beuningen to Copenhagen to incite Denmark into a war against Sweden. To everyone's amazement, in the middle of the winter the Swedish king crossed over from Jutland, across the Great Belt, to Copenhagen. In a second expedition to relieve Copenhagen, Witte de With participated in the Battle of the Sound. Cornelis de Graeff was prepared to begin the fight against Sweden, against the advice of the Grand Pensionarys. When Charles X unexpectedly died in 1660, Sweden made peace. Amsterdam sent also admiral Michiel de Ruyter against the English, against the orders of the parliament of the Netherlands. Despite these differences in approach with De Witt, he and De Graeff stayed on good terms. De Witt in 1660 observed of Cornelis: "with the gentleman of Zuidpolsbroek, in nothing was to do something".
De Graeff and William III of Orange.
On 25 September 1660 the States of Holland under the prime movers of De Witt, De Graeff, his younger brother Andries de Graeff and Gillis Valckenier resolved to take charge of William III of Oranges education to ensure he would acquire the skills to serve in a future—though undetermined—state function. During the summers the family spent a lot of their time at the Palace Soestdijk, and the sons of De Graeff played with the young William - who became later King of England, Scotland and Ireland and stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands - at the lake and woods at Palace Soestdijk. After the rampjaar his son Jacob sold it to stadholder William III.
The Dutch Gift.
In 1660 the Dutch Gift was organized by the regents, especially the powerful brothers Cornelis and Andries de Graeff. The sculptures for the gift were selected by the pre-eminent sculptor in the Netherlands, Artus Quellinus, and Gerrit van Uylenburgh, the son of Rembrandt's dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh, advised the States-General on the purchase. The Dutch Gift was a collection of 28 mostly Italian Renaissance paintings and 12 classical sculptures, along with a yacht, the Mary, and furniture, which was presented to King Charles II of England by the States-General of the Netherlands in 1660.
Most of the paintings and all the Roman sculptures were from the Reynst collection, the most important seventeenth-century Dutch collection of paintings of the Italian sixteenth century, formed in Venice by Jan Reynst (1601–1646) and extended by his brother, Gerrit Reynst (1599–1658). The gift reflected the taste Charles II shared with his father, Charles I, whose large collection, one of the most magnificent in Europe, had mostly been sold abroad after he was executed in 1649. The collection was given to him to mark his return to power in the English Restoration, before which Charles had spent many years in exile in the Dutch Republic during the rule of the English Commonwealth. It was intended to strengthen diplomatic relations between England and the Republic, but only a few years after the gift the two nations would be at war again in the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665–1667.
Death.
Cornelis's tomb chapel is to be found of in the Oude Kerk, and after his death his younger brother Andries and the cunning Gillis Valckenier took over his role on the council.
After De Graeff's death Johan de Witt lost his power and reputation in Amsterdam and afterwards in the Province Holland.
Historiography.
De Graeff communicated in a soft and exemplary way and was honest and open, a novelty for the young republic, and felt that it was De Witt who had brought Amsterdam and its interests to their present good fortune. Also De Graeff never drove Amsterdam's affairs onto the rocks, but had a good eye for the interests of the other towns of Holland and avoided a mode of power- politics that would have left Amsterdam isolated.
Aims.
Brugmans states that De Graeff's aims were nearly always administrative and political - the power of Amsterdam in Holland, and the power of the Republic, was only as great as their social power, including the limitation of the power of the House of Orange. One point, however, is emphasised by Brugmans - that only De Graeff (out of all Amsterdam's politicians) was ever elected grand pensionary and then entirely successful in pleasing Amsterdam. The regent's descendant Adriaen Pauw was also elected as such in 1651.


Corry Vreeken

Maria Cornelia Vreeken (born 22 December 1928), née Corry Bouwman, also Corry Vreeken-Bouwman, is a Dutch chess player who holds the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM, 1987). She is a five-time winner of the Dutch Women's Chess Championship (1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970).
Biography.
From 1960s to 1970s, Corry Vreeken was one of the leading Dutch women's chess players. She five time won Dutch Women's Chess Championships: 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966 and 1970. Participant of many international chess tournaments. Her best results are won in Emmen (1962), shared 1st - 3rd place in Beverwijk (1968) and won zonal tournament in Biel/Bienne (1980).
Corry Vreeken two times participated in the Women's World Chess Championship Interzonal Tournaments:
Corry Vreeken played for Netherlands in the Women's Chess Olympiads:
In 1968 she awarded the FIDE International Women Master (WIM) title, but in 1987 - Woman grandmaster (WGM) honorary title.


Misak Terzibasiyan

Misak Terzibasiyan (Helsinki, 1964) is a Dutch architect.
Misak Terzibasiyan's mother, Vappu Viuha, was of Finnish descent; his father, textile designer Edward Terzibasiyan, had Armenian roots. Misak studied at Eindhoven University of Technology from 1985 to 1991 graduating in Architecture, Urban Design and Building Sciences. After graduating, he worked between 1991 and 1994 as an architect in Cologne. He furthered his architectural career with various offices in the Netherlands between 1994 and 2003. In 2003, Terzibasiyan set up his own architectural studio UArchitects in Eindhoven. He is a member of the welfare committee in various municipalities and regularly publishes on de Architect website.
Awards & Nominations.
Since 2003, Misak has received national and international awards and nominations, including first prize for the Community School in Bocholt, Dirk Roosenberg Prize in 2015 with 't Hofke, Victor de Stuers Prize 2017 with IKC de Geluksvogel. Other awards also include Edu Build Award in 2011, the 2014 German Design Award with Split-View, the American Architecture Prize 2016 in the category "Education" and the BB Green Award 2017 in China for Modern Collective Living, second prize at the World Architecture & Design Awards 2019 with IKC de Geluksvogel. Shortlist nomination 2019 for Worldwide Brick Award with IKC de Geluksvogel.


MS Stena Europe

MS "Stena Europe" is a ferry owned by Stena Line and operated on its Fishguard—Rosslare service.
Early career.
MS "Stena Europe was built in 1981 by the Götaverken shipyard in Gothenburg, Sweden as MS "Kronprinsessan Victoria for Sessan Line. During the same year Sessan Line passed under the ownership of Stena Line. "Kronprisessan Victoria" was used as a day ferry on the Gothenburg - Frederikshavn route until March 1982 when the vessel was converted to a night ferry for the Gothenburg - Kiel route. This involved building a large numbers of additional cabins onto the upper vehicle deck to make her suitable as an overnight ship.
In 1988 MS "Kronprisessan Victoria" was sent for rebuilding to make her more suitable for use on the Oslo - Fredrikshavn route, this involved building more cabins which saw an accommodation block added on the top deck. MS "Kronprisessan Victoria" was renamed MS "Stena Saga" prior to entering service on the Oslo - Fredrikshavn route.
In 1994 the vessel was transferred to the Hook of Holland - Harwich route. MS "Stena Saga" was refitted prior to transfer; this mainly involved removing the accommodation block that was added to the top deck in 1988. The vessel was then renamed MS "Stena Europe". Following the introduction of the HSS "Stena Discovery" on the Hook of Holland - Harwich route in June 1997 the MS "Stena Europe" was withdrawn from the route. She was transferred to Stena Line's subsidiary Lion Ferry as MS "Lion Europe" entering service on the Karlskrona - Gdynia route. In 1998 all Lion Ferry routes and vessel were transferred to the Stena Line banner. Following this she reverted to the name "Stena Europe". Between 1997 and 2001, she served on Stena Line's Karlskrona - Gdynia route.
Transfer to the Irish Sea.
In late 2001 Stena Line announced that the "Koningin Beatrix" and MS "Stena Europe" would swap routes in early 2002. In January 2002 MS "Stena Europe" entered the City Shipyard at Gothenburg to undergo a GBP4.5 million refit. All the main passenger lounges were refurbished and the cabins installed on the upper vehicle deck in 1982 were removed returning the latter to something like their original state. With freight capacity fully restored the vessel is once again very much a day ferry. Following berthing trials the MS "Stena Europe" entered service on its new route on 13 March 2002.
MS "Stena Europe" has proved a popular ship on the Fishguard - Rosslare route. She shared Rosslare for a time with her sister ship, , that was then operating Irish Ferries' services to France. She also shared the Fishguard - Rosslare route with the "Stena Lynx III" during the summer months until the end of Summer 2011 when "Stena Lynx III" ceased operating the route.
In June 2005 MS "Stena Europe" covered on the Holyhead - Dublin route for eleven days while MS Stena Adventurer was on annual overhaul. In November 2008 MS "Stena Europe" received an €850,000 refurbishment to some of its main passenger lounges. The most recent interior upgrade was completed in May / June 2010 which brought about a revamped Stena Plus area a new Barista Coffee bar, and a new seating Lounge on Deck 7. In 2011 the MS "Stena Europe" was off service twice, once for overhaul in January and again in April for the replacement of an engine in Falmouth. MS "Stena Europe" went for annual refit in late January 2012 and returned to service on 3 February 2012. In March 2019, "Stena Europe" arrived at Gemak's Tuzla yard in Turkey for life extension work


MS Star Clipper

MS "Star Clipper" was a Norwegian-owned bulk carrier built by Kockums in Malmö, Sweden in 1968. In 1981 she was sold and her name changed to "Star Lanao". She was scrapped in India in 1986.
Almö Bridge Disaster.
She is best known for causing the Almö Bridge disaster when sailing into Uddevalla, Sweden, in bad weather.


Felipe Harboe

Felipe Harboe Bascuñán (born July 20, 1972 in Eindhoven, Netherlands) is a Dutch-born Chilean politician from the Party for Democracy and current Senator in Congress. He is a former Deputy Interior MInister of Chile and acting Minister of the Interior and a Deputy in Congress.
Early years.
Harboe received his law degree from the Central University of Chile. During the government of Ricardo Lagos, Harboe served on the Santiago Intendancy, in the Ministry of the Secretary-General of the Presidency of Chile, and in the Ministry of the Interior of Chile as Deputy Minister of the Carabineros de Chile. He was named Deputy Interior Minister on January 30, 2006 by Lagos, and continued there when Michelle Bachelet took office. As Undersecretary, Harboe had to take the oath of office of the new ministers during the change in administrations on March 11, 2006.
Deputy Minister of the Interior.
The position of Deputy Minister of the Interior is of great importance because it is responsible for coordinating the matters of public security and maintaining public order within the country. His main areas of specific work have been controlling major protests, like the 2006 student protests in Chile, strikes, unemployment, and anything else that threatens public order. Before the creation of the National Intelligence Agency of Chile ("Agencia Nacional de Inteligencia de Chile"), Harboe supervised the Public Security and Information Department ("Dirección de Seguridad Pública e Informaciones", known as "La Oficina"). Currently he coordinates the work of the "Carabineros" and the Police Investigations (the Forces of Order and Security, "Fuerzas de Orden y Seguridad") to fight crime.
After the resignation of Belisario Velasco on January 3, 2008, Harboe assumed the position of acting Minister of the Interior, the first time that office has been held in the nation's history.
In December 2008, Harboe resigned to his post of Undersecretary and started to organize a campaign to be elected as Deputy for the District 22 of Santiago Centro for the next Parliamentary Elections.
On March 13, 2009, Harboe was appointed by his party to take the vacant seat of former Deputy Carolina Tohá, who was chosen one day earlier by President Michelle Bachelet as Minister Secretary General of Government, in the District 22 of Santiago Centro, the same seat that he was campaigning for, and for which he is expected to run in the next Parliamentary Elections. He was sworn in on March 19, 2009.


HSwMS Uppland (Upd)

HSwMS "Uppland" (Upd) is a submarine in the Swedish Navy. It is the second submarine in the . The motto of HSwMS "Uppland" is "Prudencia Et Audacia".
Mid-life upgrade.
In 2020, HSwMS "Uppland" did undergo a mid-life upgrade, as her sister HSwMS "Gotland" after her. During the upgrade, a number of systems that will be used in the next generation submarines, the "Blekinge"-class (A26), was installed. More than 20 new systems on board the new "Gotland"-class was implemented, which contributes to their de-risking for the A26. This also offers training opportunities for the crew when they in the future deploy on board the A26.
The upgrade process entails many new systems, such as the Stirling AIP, a complete new mast suite, sonars and sensors as well as management and communication systems. In order to host all systems, the submarine has gained length to 62 m and another 200 tons in weight, to reach a displacement (surfaced) of 1580 tons.


Anno Smith

Ferdinand Anno (Anno) Smith (7 April 1915 in Groningen – 14 January 1990 in Groningen) was a Dutch artist, who worked as ceramist, painter, sculptor and art teacher.
Live and work.
Smith was the youngest in a family of eight children. His parents were grocers in Groningen. Smith was trained as a carpenter at the technical school, after which he joined the Academie Minerva. Here he was taught by Willem Valk, Arnold Willem Kort and Cornelis Pieter de Wit. Smith would later also teach at Minerva.
After his education, Smith was employed as a potter since 1937. In 1938-1939, he exhibited at Pictura with its pottery. After a study trip to Italy, Smith began to focus on making stone carvings and wall decorations. He also made some freestanding ceramic figures, such as "Life" on the Brink in Diever (see image).
In the years after the war people worked hard to rebuild, while there was also demand for beautification of the buildings. Smith provided tableaus and wall decoration for condominiums, schools, shops and other buildings in the residential areas of Groningen, such as the Grunobuurt, Helpman, Indische buurt en De Wijert.
Smith did not only work for the city of Groningen. His work can be found throughout North Netherlands, as in Hoogkerk, Leeuwarden, Oosterwolde, Peize, Sneek, Termunterzijl and Zuidhorn.
There are also reliefs of Smith outside North Netherlands. In 1955 he made a relief of four athletes and a ball for a gymnasium. For two schools in Gouda he made reliefs respectively Rumpelstiltskin and Pinkeltje. In Hardenberg a ceramic representation can be seen on the creation myth on the hall of the Greijdanus College. After the demolition of the school's artwork was displayed on the plaza at the new school.


Danny Mathijssen

Danny Mathijssen (born 17 March 1983) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player.
Career.
Born in Bergen op Zoom, Mathijssen played professionally as a midfielder for Willem II, AZ, RKC Waalwijk and NAC Breda.
After retiring from playing due to injury in 2009, Mathijssen worked as a coach at RBC Roosendaal, before becoming manager of amateur team METO in 2011, a team he had previously played youth football for. He returned as head coach of RBC in 2016, leading the team from the Vierde Klasse to the Derde Klasse, before being dismissed after the 2017–18 season.


Marjan Sax

Marjan Sax (born 26 December 1947) is a feminist lesbian activist, member of Dolle Mina and co-founder of different feminist organisations, like Foundation Mama Cash. Sax is also an advisor for charity organisations.
Life.
Sax was born in Amsterdam and studied politics at the University of Amsterdam. She was teamleader at the Open School in the North of Amsterdam from April 1977 to 1981. After that she worked as a researcher at the Foundation Vrouw & Media from March 1983 until June 1986, where she looked at the position of female journalists at Dutch newspapers. Sax is working as an independent advisor since 2003, also she is a publicist and is a member of different boards. Sax gave the 2003 Mosse Lecture, titled "Naar een nieuwe seksuele revolutie" ("Towards a new sexual revolution").
Activism.
Sax was active in Dolle Mina and was the co-founder of different feminist organisations: the Amsterdamse vrouwenhuis in 1973, the pro-abortion actiongroup "Wij Vrouwen Eisen" in 1974, the course Female Studies at the University of Amsterdam, the womenbar Saarein in 1978 where a lesbian-feminist collective organised events (amongst others mother-daughter days, poetry nights, folk song days and themed parties). And the Lesbian Archive Amsterdam (now IHLIA LGBT Heritage) in 1982. Sax also took part in many other lesbian and feminist activities. She was one of the occupiers of the abortion clinic Bloemenhove in Heemstede, that was threatened to be closed in 1976. This action played a role in the legalisation of abortion. Sax kept a diary of this occupation, it was published in "De Groene Amsterdammer."
In 1982 Sax co-founded the organisation Mama Cash with four others, where she was part of the board until 2003. Organisation Mama Cash has different funds for women projects that promote emancipation and feminism. Sax received a noteworthy heritage and in 1982 she gave Mama Cash an interest-free loan of 2,5 million guilders. The organisation was allowed to keep the profit. In the eighties and nineties Sax was involved in de Roze Draad (1985 - 1991, the feminist supportgroup of "De Rode Draad", an organisation for the improvement of the position of sex workers) and "Vrouwen tegen Uitzetting" (a collaboration to support female refugees).
The archive of Marjan Sax is being kept in Internationaal Archief voor de Vrouwenbeweging (IAV).
Rewards.
Sax has received different rewards for her efforts for the Dutch women's right movement, among others the Zilveren Anjer of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds in 1995 and the Bob Angelo Penning of the COC in 1997.


Diocese of Sigtuna

The Diocese of Sigtuna was a Catholic diocese founded in Sigtuna, Sweden, established in the mid 11th century. At the time, the town of Sigtuna, situated to the north of lake Mälaren and to the south of Uppsala in the Swedish province of Uppland, had been the centre of royal power for some decades, and existed until the middle of the 12th century. It was eventually out-competed by the earlier pagan religious centre Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), which was raised to the status of archbishopric in 1164 (see: Archdiocese of Uppsala). King Stenkil (about 1030-1066) is said to have been the driving force behind its establishment. First bishop is said to have been Adalvard the Younger (died before 1072).
Five Sigtuna bishops are known from written sources, four diocesan bishops, but it seems that apart from Adalvard most were not stationed in Sigtuna and episcopal Sigtuna was mostly unoccupied. Approximately in 1120, the Diocese of Sigtuna was indicated but not of that of Uppsala. Uppsala diocese was formed, however, in the 1130s while Sigtuna ceased to have its own bishop. The Diocese of Sigtuna formally ceased at latest when the Diocese of Uppsala was elevated to archbishopric in 1164.
History.
In the middle of town Sigtuna there was a royal estate on which the first stone church in the area around lake Mälaren was built in the end of the 11th century. The bishopric of Sigtuna was established with Adalvard the Younger around 1060, as the first one in Svealand. The above-mentioned stone church was the bishop's church, the cathedral. It was demolished during the high Middle Ages, but the remains of the walls are preserved below ground. The plot is now occupied by the Sigtuna Museum. The contemporary significance of the town was testified by Adam of Bremen, who in circa 1070 refers to Sigtuna as a "civitas magna".
During the early Middle Ages no less than six or seven stone churches were erected with surrounding cemeteries. All but the cathedral was laid along a newly built street outside the old settlement area. Of these churches, only remnants of the churches of Saint Peter, Saint Lawrence and Saint Olaf remain left as ruins. Of the other ones, nothing appears above ground.
King Gustav I of Sweden allowed to use the stones from the ruins for the construction of Svartsjö Palace. In contrast, King John III of Sweden later commanded the ruins to be preserved.


Zagreb County (former)

Zagreb County (; ) was a historic administrative subdivision ("županija") of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (Transleithania), the Hungarian part of the dual Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its territory is now in northern Croatia. The capital of the county was Zagreb (Croatian, in Hungarian: "Zágráb").
Geography.
Zagreb County shared borders with the Austrian lands Styria, Carniola and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the counties of Varaždin County, Bjelovar-Križevci, Požega and Modruš-Rijeka (all in Croatia-Slavonia). The river Sava flows through the county. Its area was 7210 km² around 1910.
History.
The territory of the Zagreb County was part of the Kingdom of Croatia when it entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, and with it became part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1526. Zagreb County was re-established after it was liberated from Ottoman occupation in the early 18th century. In 1920, by the Treaty of Trianon the county became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia). Since 1991, when Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia, the county is part of the Republic of Croatia.
Demographics.
In 1900, the county had a population of 541,242 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:
Total:
According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities:
Total:
In 1910, the county had a population of 594,052 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:
Total:
According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities:
Total:
Subdivisions.
In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Zagreb county were:


Ineke Mulder

C.A.M. (Ineke) Mulder (born August 30, 1950 in Groningen) is a former Dutch politician of the Labour Party.
From early 2003 until early 2008 she was deputy of the Groningen provincial council responsible for welfare, healthcare, education, sports, events, personnel and facility management. As a deputy she was a member of the permanent delegation of the Social Policy Association of Provincial Authorities (IPO) in which she devoted herself to improving youth care.
In March 2008 she resigned from her post because of adverse complications in the Youth Bureau and its inability to rectify its problems.
Mulder began her career as a teacher in a school for severely maladjusted children. She continued her career in education and eventually became unit director of marketing and business services for the ROC Noorderpoortcollege, a group of schools in Groningen and Drenthe.


Willem Arnold Alting

Willem Arnold Alting (11 November 1724 – 7 June 1800) was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1780 to 1797.
Born in Groningen, Alting studied in his hometown and graduated in law. He left on 18 October 1750 for the East Indies on board the "De Middelburg" as an "onderkoopman" (underbuyer/undermerchant) for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He spent the rest of his life in the Indies. In 1754 he became "koopman" (buyer/merchant) and in 1759 First Secretary to the government. In 1763 he became Counsellor-extraordinary ("Buitengewoon Raad") and in 1772 full Counsellor ("Raad ordinaris"). In 1777, he became First Counsellor ("Eerste Raad") was named Director-General.
From March 1780 he was acting Governor-General, because of the sickness of his predecessor, Reynier de Klerck. Following the death of De Klerck, on 1 September 1780, he was chosen by the Dutch Council of the Indies as provisional Governor-General. He carried on this function for seventeen years.
De Klerck had wanted to bring the use of Dutch into the educational system, but Alting revoked this in 1786, so that Malay and Portuguese were once again used. Alting's term of office was marked by a steep decline of the Dutch East India Company and its power in the Indies.
Three months after he took up post, the Netherlands went to war with Great Britain (in the 1780–1784 Fourth Anglo-Dutch War) and a great part of the territory of Dutch East India Company was occupied by the British. The government in Batavia (Jakarta) did not, on the whole, offer much resistance. Following the 1784 Peace of Paris, Britain obtained the right to unhindered trade in the East Indies. The Dutch had to cede Negapatam in India to the British. The image of the Dutch in the eyes of the local rulers was thoroughly shattered.
From the Netherlands, three Commissioners-General were sent to work with Alting to reorganise. On the way there, one of them died and Alting managed to get his son-in-law Johannes Siberg to take his place. The Alting-Siberg duo dominated the Commission and, from the reports of one of the other Commissioners, it seems they worked very hard in their own interests. The Commission cost a lot of money but brought no improvement. In 1795, it became known in Batavia that their homeland (in the meantime having become the Batavian Republic) was once again at war with Great Britain.
On 17 February 1797, Willem Arnold Alting resigned as Governor-General and Commissioner-General and handed the post over to Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten. Alting remained as an ordinary citizen, without official position, living on his estate at Kampong Melajoe near Batavia. He died there on 7 June 1800.


Norgani

Norgani () is Europe's fifth largest hotel real estate investment company that owns 70 hotels throughout the Nordic Region. Operation of the hotels is performed by the Scandic Hotels, Choice Hotels and Rezidor chains. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The largest owner is Oslo Co-operative Housing Association (12%).
The company was delisted from the stock exchange when it was acquired by Oslo Properties AS, a company owned by Norwegian Property, EQT, A Wilhelmsen Group and a financial investor syndicate.


MS Formosa Queen

MS "Song of Norway (later Sundream, Dream Princess, Dream, Clipper Pearl, Clipper Pacific, Festival, Ocean Pearl, Formosa Queen") was one of the first ships purpose-built as a cruise ship. She was the first ship of Royal Caribbean International when she entered operation in 1970. She was sold for scrap in 2013 and broken up in 2014, after serving her last years as a gambling ship.
Statistics.
The vessel originally had a gross tonnage of 18,000 tons, and could carry 724 passengers. Following the 1978 refit, she was lengthened by 85 feet, to provide for 1024 passengers and increasing her size to 23,000 gross tons.
History.
The vessel was constructed in Helsinki, Finland in 1970. Named "Song of Norway", she was the first ship built for cruise line Royal Caribbean International. The vessel was lengthened in 1978, due to the high demand for cruising, and sailed on seven- and fourteen-day cruises out of Miami. As "Song of Norway" she was the first vessel to service the Royal Caribbean proprietary resort of Labadee, Haiti.
In 1996, surpassed by the significantly larger ships in the Royal Caribbean International fleet, the ship was sold to
Sun Cruises part of the Airtours/MyTravel (which has now merged with Thomas Cook AG), who operated the vessel under the name "Sundream". Before the ship entered service for her new owners, the sky lounge around her funnel was removed.
In October 2004 she was sold, refitted and became MS "Dream Princess" for Caspi Cruises (Israel) and operated the 2005 season from Haifa.
In November 2007 the ship was sold to Pearl Owner Ltd., a company in the Bahamas-based Clipper Group of Denmark, which put the management of the ship in the hands the Miami, Florida based company International Shipping Partners, Inc. (ISP). After refitting in Turkey and Malta, the ship was chartered to the Peace Boat organization and renamed the "Clipper Pacific". The ship was in service touring the world, from Japan to Japan, as part of Peace Boat's mission. After numerous repeated problems with the ship, however, the world tour was broken off in Piraeus, Greece. Afterwards, the ship was sold to ISP and renamed to "Festival". She came into service again as a cruise ship, first in 2009 for Caspi Cruises and as of 2010 for Quail Travel's Happy Cruises. Quail Travel has renewed the charter for the 2011 season. The charter ended when Happy Cruises ceased operations.
In 2009 she was used on Mediterranean voyages, under the name "Festival", as a stand in by the Israeli company Caspi Cruises, whose own advertised voyages on smaller vessels had booked to overcapacity. For the 2010 and 2011 seasons, under the name M/V "Ocean Pearl", the ship has been chartered by Quail Travel's Happy Cruises. The "Ocean Pearl" was on a cruise but had to terminate it in Málaga, Spain due to Happy Cruises ceasing operations on September 24, 2011.
2005 refitting.
In early 2005 "Sundream" was being refitted in Piraeus under the name "Dream Princess". The ship was sailing on four-night cruises from Haifa to Alanya, Rhodes and Larnaca. Some itineraries also included Marmaris and Santorini. In January 2006 the vessel was used to house students from Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.
September 2007 listing.
On September 18, 2007, while anchored in the port of Rhodes the cruise ship developed a 10 degree list. She was immediately evacuated and four officers who were on duty at the time of the incident were detained. The crew was accused of deliberately grounding the vessel to prevent further listing and an ultimate sinking. Divers investigating the incident discovered that hatchways in the hull designed for discharging untreated waste into the ocean, had been crudely plugged with chunks of wood, to prevent the discharge. That kept the waste on board. Failure to pump the waste in a timely manner, resulted in the listing of the vessel.
The list was eventually corrected but on 18 November 2007, due to strong winds, "Dream Princess" came loose of her moorings and collided with an adjacent cargo ship causing minor damages in both vessels. The coast guard managed to tow the cruise ship back to the dock using tug-boats.
"Dream Princess" remained in the port of Rhodes for nearly two months until her seaworthiness was re-established. On November 28, 2007 she was towed to the port of Kusadasi.
July 2008 detainment.
On July 16, 2008, the "Clipper Pacific" was detained in New York by the United States Coast Guard for numerous safety violations including a leaking hull. She remained in New York and was not allowed to leave until repairs were made. Further extensive repairs were made in dry dock in Tampa, Florida, where inspectors found new safety problems.
The ship was next detained for a couple of days in August 2008 in Seward, Alaska for significant code violations.
Engine problems.
Late 2008 she was laid up in Istanbul, Turkey for engine repairs.
Final years.
In April 2012, "MS Ocean Pearl" was sold for use in China as a floating casino, after International Shipping Partners, the former owner of the MS Gemini and the "MS Ocean Pearl", issued a statement saying that both ships would be available for sale or charter after the insolvency of Happy Cruises. She was renamed "Formosa Queen" and operated by Asia Star Cruises.
In November 2013, "Formosa Queen" was sold for scrap and she was broken up in China in 2014.


Franciscan Church, Bratislava

The Franciscan Church (Slovak: "Františkánsky kostol" or "Kostol Zvestovania Pána") is the oldest existing religious (sacral) building in the Old Town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The church was consecrated in the year 1297 in the presence of King Andrew III of Hungary. In the past, the church building served for larger gatherings of townspeople or Hungarian nobles. In 1526 Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor was elected here to become the King of Hungary. During coronations, kings used to knight nobles as Knights of the Order of the Golden Spur in this church.
The building was damaged several times by fire and earthquake and only a small part of its original form is preserved, most notably the presbytery. The adjacent Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist with a crypt, built in the second half of the 14th century is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the city.
History.
Legend has it that the church was built by the King Ladislaus IV of Hungary to commemorate his victory over the Czech King (Přemysl) Ottokar II of Bohemia from the year 1278.
It was constructed in Bratislava (known as Pressburg / Poszony for most of its history) between 1280 and 1297 in a Gothic style and consecrated by King Andrew III on 24 March 1297. It was turned into a Renaissance church in the 17th century and into a Baroque church in the 18th century.
Selected persons were knighted here in the 16th - 19th centuries as Knights of the Golden Spur, each time when kings of Royal Hungary/the Kingdom of Hungary were crowned in the Cathedral of St Martin, also located within the walled city.
Two chapels and a Franciscan monastery from the 14th century stand adjacent to the church. One of them, the St. John the Evangelist Chapel, contains a crypt of the family of Jakub, an important Mayor () of Pressburg (Bratislava), modelled after the French Sainte Chapelle. The spacious rooms of the monastery have been used for meetings, mayoral elections and sessions of the Regional Parliament.
Interior.
The main altar is flanked by statues of Saint Stephan and Saint Emeric. It is a bricked pillared construction, dating 1720-1730, above which stands a glass painting from the end of the 19th century, representing the Annunciation.
Two of the side altars are dedicated to the saints Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua; both date from 1720–1730. The other side altars are dedicated to the Nativity and Our Lady of Sorrows. Leaning against the choir, one can see the altars of Saint Anne and Saint Barbara (both from about 1750).
The rococo pulpit dates from 1756. it is decorated with reliefs representing St. Francis receiving the stigmata, Saint Francis talking to the birds and Moses enforcing discipline to the Hebrews.
The rood loft, built in 1670, with the organ is supported by Tuscan pillars.
Saint Reparat relic.
The church contains a rare relic; the torso of Saint Reparat, deacon and Christian martyr from the 4th century. The relic is inside a purpose-built reliquary (shrine).
Saint Reparat () worked as a deacon in the city of Nola near Neapoli, Italy. He died in 353, having his tongue cut out and his right hand cut off. He was buried in Rome at the cemetery of Saint Lawrence until 1769 when he was dug out at the request of Eugen Kósa and moved to Bratislava. Today, Saint Reparat is the patron of those wanting to change their life for the better. In the past, he was also common visiting place of students of Bratislava.
Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist.
This chapel with a crypt was built in Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century. It was the funeral chapel of the family Jakubovec. The chapel contains statues of several saints: Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, Louis IX, Clare of Assisi and Elizabeth of Hungary. The chapel is considered one of the most significant works of Gothic architecture in Slovakia. It was reconstructed in 1831.


Hero Schomerus

Hero Schomerus (24 August 1816 – 25 September 1856) was a military and colonial administrator, who made a career in the administration on the Dutch Gold Coast.
Biography.
Hero Schomerus was born in Emden to Johann Gerhard Schomerus and Johanna van Laar. His father was a ship broker (Dutch: "cargadoor").
Schomerus was appointed assistant in the administration of the Gold Coast by royal decree of 8 August 1845. He was promoted several times before he became governor "ad interim" of the Gold Coast in 1852, after governor Anthony van der Eb had died. He was appointed full governor by royal decree of 20 January 1853.
Apart from being a colonial official, Schomerus also acted as an agent for the Rotterdam-based firm H. van Rijckevorsel & Co. During his time in office, the redoubt built on the Coebergh ("Cow Hill") in Elmina in the 1820s was reconstructed and reinforced. The new fort was completed in 1843 and later named Fort Schomerus.
Schomerus died in office, on 25 September 1856.
Personal life.
Hero Schomerus married Ellen Frij, a "princess of Ashanti". They had three sons together.


Boniak

Boniak, Bonyak or Maniac, also known as Boniak the Mangy (), was "one of the most prominent Cuman chieftains" in the late and the early . He headed a powerful Cuman tribe or clan that inhabited the steppes to west of the Dnieper River. He supported the Byzantines against the Pechenegs in the Battle of Levounion in 1091. He defeated Coloman, King of Hungary in 1097 or 1099.
Origins.
Boniak's descent is uncertain. Svetlana Pletneva associates him with the Burch tribe, Peter B. Golden with the Ölberli tribe of the "Wild Cumans", and Omeljan Pritsak with the Qay clan. Boniak's nicknamethe Mangymay show that he was born with the caul, according to the Hungarian historian Szilvia Kovács. In Anna Komnene's "Alexiad", he is called Maniac.
Boniak's exact position cannot be determined, but his career shows that he must have been the head of powerful Cuman tribal federation, tribe, or clan. When pursuing Boniak, Sviatopolk II of Kiev and Vladimir Monomach "advanced to the Bug and later beyond the , according to Vladimir's "Testament", which suggests that Boniak's people dwelled between the rivers Dnieper and Southern Bug or Dniester. His participation in military campaigns in the Balkan Peninsula also shows that his people lived near the Lower Danube.
Career.
First records.
Along with Tugorkan, Boniak, or Maniak, was one of the Cumans' "outstanding leaders", named by Anna Komnene, who came to assist the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos against the Pechenegs. The united Byzantine and Cuman army annihilated the Pechenegs in the Battle of Levounion on 29 April 1091. Historian Florin Curta writes that the two Cuman chieftains plundered the eastern regions of the Kingdom of Hungary on their return to the Desht-i Kypchak, or Cuman steppes. Pletneva says that Boniak and Tugorkan together supported the pretender Pseudo-Diogenes against Emperor Alexios I in 1094, but Anna Komnene did not refer to Boniak's participation in the fights.
Wars in Rus'.
The "Russian Primary Chronicle" recorded two events connected to Boniak under the year 6604, that is 1095 or 1096 AD. First Boniak and his Cumans "appeared before and while ravaging the environs, they burned the prince's palace at Berestovo" around 24 May. On 20 July, "Boniak, that godless, mangy thief and bandit, came suddenly to Kiev for the second time" and plundered three monasteries, including the Cave Monastery. During the second campaign, the Cumans "planted two standards before the monastery gates", which may show that they were under the command of two chieftains, according to Kovács. Kovács writes that Boniak's action preceded the campaign that Sviatopolk II and Vladimir Monomach launched against Oleg I of Chernigov. According to Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard, Boniak invaded only after Sviatopolk and his army left Kiev for a campaign against Chernigov (Chernihiv in Ukraine). Kovács says that the joint campaign of Sviatopolk and Vladimir Monomach against Boniak's land over the river Ros' that Monomach mentioned in his "Testament" seems to have been a retaliatory action after Bonia's plundering raids in Kiev.
Sviatopolk of Kiev expelled David Igorevich, Prince of Volhynia, from his principality in the late 1090s. David Igorevich fled to the Cumans and persuaded Bonyak and another Cuman chieftain, Altunopa, to join him to fight against Sviatopolk who had sought assistance from Coloman, King of Hungary. On the eve of the battle against the Hungarians, Boniak "rode away from the troops" and "began to howl like a wolf, till first one and then many wolves answered him with their howls", according to the "Russian Primary Chronicle". On his return, Boniak predicted to David Igorevich that they would defeat the Hungarians in the battle. The Cumans annihilated the Hungarian army and seized the royal treasury. According to the Hungarian "Illuminated Chronicle", "[r]arely did Hungarians suffer such slaughter as in this battle". However, David Igorevich could not reconquer Volhynia and was again forced to seek refuge among the Cumans. Boniak again joined them and their united armies seized Lutsk and Volodymyr-Volynskyi. According to the "Russian Primary Chronicle", these events occurred in 1097, but many historians (including Kovács and Martin Dimnik) say that the fights took place two years later.
The "Russian Primary Chronicle" recorded that five Rus' princesSviatopolk II of Kiev, Vladimir Monomach, Davyd Sviatoslavich, Oleg Sviatoslavich and Yaroslav Sviatoslavichassembled on the left bank of the Dnieper near Kiev in 1101. On learning of the princes' meeting, all Cuman chieftains sent envoys to them "with propositions of peace". The princes and the Cuman chieftains met at Sakov on the Dnieper and made peace on 15 September. Two years later Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Vladimir Monomach and Davyd Sviatoslavich invaded the Cuman steppes and routed a large Cuman army, killing 20 Cuman chieftains.
According to the Hypatian version of the "Russian Primary Chronicle", Boniak made an incursion into the region of Zarub in the Principality of Pereyaslavl, fighting with the Torks and Berendei in the winter of 1105 and 1106. The "Russian Primary Chronicle" recorded that Boniak "raided and seized many horses in the vicinity of in May 1107. During the summer, he returned accompanied by Sharukan and other Cuman chieftains and laid siege to Lubno on the Sula River. Vladimir Monomach, Prince of Pereyaslavl, persuaded Svyatopolk II of Kiev and other Rus' princes to come to fight against the invaders. Their unified armies unexpectedly crossed the Sula, forcing the terrified Cumans to lift the siege and leave their camp on 12 August. According to an alternative narration, recorded in Vladimir Monomach's "Testament", the united forces of the Rus' princes routed Boniak and his Cuman allies on the banks of the Sula in summer, and Monomach alone defeated Boniak at Lubno alone only in 1108.
Svyatoplok II of Kiev died on 16 April 1113 or 1114. After the Cumans learned of Svyatopluk's death, the Cumans marched as far as Vyr' River. The Cumans were under the command of Aepa and Boniak, according to the "Testament" of Vladimir Monomach who succeeded Svyatopolk in Kiev. Monomach wrote that he "advanced to meet them as far as" Romny with his sons and Oleg Sviatoslavich, forcing the Cumans to flee.
Boniak is often represented as a sorcerer in Rus' folklore.