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OTD January 29th. 1584 Frederick Henry Prince of Orange

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January 29th. 1584 marks the birth of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. This event took place in Delft, then a part of the Dutch Republic now, located in the Netherlands. Family Frederick Henry was the youngest child of William the Silent and Louise de Coligny. His father was stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Friesland. His mother Louise was the daughter of the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny. He was thus a half brother of Maurice of Orange. Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, his wife and children Love and Marriage On April 4th. 1625, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange married to Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. They would have nine children together, four of them died young. Frederick Henry also recognized one illegitimate child by Margaretha Catharina Bruyns. This was Frederick Nassau, Lord of Zuylenstein. Life When his half brother, Maurice died without legitimate issue, Frederick Henry succeeded him. He became stadtholder of Holland, Z

History - OnThisDay - January 23rd 1571 - Royal Exchange in London

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On January 23rd. 1571, the Royal Exchange in London was opened by Queen Elizabeth I. She awarded the building a royal title and the licence to sell alcohol. The exchange of goods took place till the seventeenth century. Royal Exchange - London - own picture taken in 2016 Building history Richard Clough, a merchant and agent of Queen Elizabeth I suggested to build the exchange in 1562. In 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed the complex. A second complex was built on the site. Edward Jarman was the designer. It was opened in 1669, but a fire destroyed it again in 1838. The building that we can see nowadays was built by William Tite. It was officially opened on October 28th. 1844 by ... Queen Victoria. The Royal Exchange is now a retail center with shops like Hermès, Tiffany & Co etc.

History - OnThisDay - January 21st. 1911 - First Monte Carlo Rally in Monaco

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On January 21st. 1911, the first Monte Carlo Rally took place in Monaco. This is a rally event organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The Automobile Club de Monaco is a motoring club who organizes the Monte Carlo Rally and the Monaco Grand Prix. Royal Link The Monte Carlo Rally was ordered by Prince Albert I of Monaco. The Rally would start across Europe and end in Monaco. Facts * In January 21st. 1911, 23 cars set out on 11 different locations. * From 1973 till 2008 the Monte Carlo Rally was held in January.    It was the first event of the Fia World Rally Championship. Monaco Grand Prix parcours - own picture taken in 2013 Source pictures (except the last one): Wikipedia

OTD January 14th 1507 Catherine of Austria Queen of Portugal

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January 14th. 1507 marks the birth of Catherine of Austria. This took place in Torquemada, Spain. Catherine with her brothers and sisters  (she is the young lady at the right) Family Catherine of Austria was the daughter of Philip I of Castile, also called the handsome, and Joanna of Castile (the mad). Catherine was thus a sister of: Eleanor of Castile, Queen of Portugal and later Queen of France; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; Isabella, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden; Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I; Mary Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (later governor of the Netherlands). Love and Marriage On February 10th. 1525, Catherine married her first cousin, King John of Portugal. They would have 9 children, however only 2 survived childhood. Duty Catherine served as regent for Portugal between 1557 and 1562. She also had one of the earliest and finest Chinese Porcelain collections in Europe. First she collected it as younger sister of Charles V, later as