Quadruple Dutch Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joop den Uyl

At place 27 in the list of the Greatest Dutchman, we find Joop den Uyl, born in 1919. He studied economics and worked for a while as a journalist. As member of the Partij van de Arbeid (Labour Party) he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1956. He served as Minister of Economic Affairs in 1965-1966 and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in 1981-1982. His highest office was that of Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977. Den Uyl died in 1987 of a brain tumour.

Pim Fortuyn (1948-2002) was chosen as Greatest Dutchman in a live television show in 2004. Pim Fortuyn was member of different political parties, and finally started his own party in 2002. Pim spoke very harshly against the Islamic religion, and especially against their reluctance to blend in to the Dutch society. Just a few days before the general elections in May 2002, Pim was shot and killed.

Johan van Oldenbarneveldt (1547-1619) occupied place 24 in the list of the Greatest Dutchman. He supported William of Orange in the Eighty Years' War against the Spanish and was land's advocate (political leader) of the state of Holland for 32 years. Van Oldenbarneveldt was convicted of treason against the federal country of the Netherlands and executed by beheading.

Johan de Witt (1625-1672) came in at place 30 in the list of the Greatest Dutchman. He ruled the Dutch Republic for about twenty years. But then the supporters of the royal family of Orange rebelled, and De Witt and his brother were killed by the mob.

Answer: Hendrik Lorentz

Hendrik Lorentz (1853-1928) studied physics and mathematics. As a theoretical physicist, he examined electricity, magnetism, and optics. Together with Pieter Zeeman (1865-1943) Lorentz won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1902. Zeeman had conducted experiments with electromagnetic fields influencing spectral lines, and Lorentz developed the theoretical explanation for this phenomenon: the oscillation of subatomic particles creates light, and the magnetic field alters the oscillation pattern so that the light is altered as well. Lorentz occupies place 49 on the list of the Greatest Dutchman.

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) is best known as the inventor of the pendulum clock. He appears as number 12 on the list of the Greatest Dutchman. At number 4 on the list of Greatest Dutchman we find Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), who made his own microscopes and discovered several bacteria. Simon Stevin (1548-1620) appears as number 90 on the list of Greatest Dutchman, although he was born in Bruges (nowadays Belgium). He is best known for his contribution to mathematics (favouring decimal fractions for every-day use), but also wrote on optics and music theory.

Answer: MC Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was not a painter, but produced woodcuts and lithographs. Typical of his work is the stunning play with perspective, such as a staircase that seems always to go up until the point where one started, or a waterfall that goes round back to its starting point. I especially like the graphic "Sky and Water", which has geese at the top and fish at the bottom, and in the middle these two animal species seamlessly merge into each other. He came in at number 37 on the list of the Greatest Dutchman.

The Baroque painter Rembrandt (1606-1669) and the post-impressionist painter Van Gogh (1853-1890) both ended in the top-10 of the Greatest Dutchman: Rembrandt at number 9 and Van Gogh at number 10. Rembrandt is of course best known for his work "The Night Watch", while Van Gogh excelled at painting "Sunflowers". Piet Mondriaan (1872-1944) painted in various styles, but is best known for his abstract tableaux of large rectangles in primary colours (red, yellow, blue and white). He is listed as number 90 on the Greatest Dutchman.

Answer: Joop Zoetemelk

At number 69 in the list of Greatest Dutchman we find Joop Zoetemelk (born 1946). He started his professional cycling career in 1967. He started sixteen times in the Tour de France, and incredibly also finished in each and every Tour. His major successes were winning the Vuelta (Spanish Grand Tour) in 1979, winning the Tour de France in 1980 (after five second places) and winning the World Championship in 1985. In 1987 he retired as cyclist, but continued as sporting manager to be involved in professional cycling for another twenty years.

Michels (1928-2005) played as striker with the Amsterdam based soccer club Ajax between 1946 and 1958. But he gained more fame as a coach for several teams, most notably Ajax (1965-1971 and 1975-1976), Barcelona (1971-1974 and 1976-1978) and the Dutch national team (1974, 1984-1988 and 1990-1992). Michels appears as number 54 on the list of Greatest Dutchman.
The top athlete in the list of the Greatest Dutchman, at number 6, is the legendary soccer player Johan Cruyff (1947-2016). Some (especially the Dutch) claim he was the best soccer player ever. Cruyff played from 1964 until 1973 for Ajax and then went to Barcelona (1973-1978). After his retirement as active player, he went on to coach both these teams (Ajax from 1985 till 1988, then Barcelona until 1996). Gullit (born 1962) ended at number 72 in the list of Greatest Dutchman. He played soccer for several clubs, and is most associated with the Italian club AC Milan.

Answer: Eric Hazelhoff Roelfzema

Eric Hazelhoff Roelfzema (1917-2007) has made it to number 39 on the list of Greatest Dutchman. He was born and in Dutch East India (nowadays Indonesia). In 1930 the family moved to the Netherlands, and Eric studied literature at the university of Leiden. When Germany invaded the Netherlands and demanded the expulsion of all Jewish staff members of the university, Roelfzema was one of the leaders of a spontaneous student strike. He became member of the resistance, but the Germans arrested and tortured him. He fled the country and enrolled in the Dutch secret service abroad, where he soon was employed to escort small boats to drop intelligence agents on the Dutch shore. Later on he volunteered for a career with the Royal Air Force, as a scout for bombing missions over Germany. After the war he made a career in the USA mainly as journalist. He published the novel "Soldaat van Oranje" ("Soldier of Orange") about his wartime experiences, and Paul Verhoeven directed a movie based upon this work.

Anne Frank (number 8 on the list of the Greatest Dutchman) was not really Dutch: she was born into a Jewish family in Germany in 1929. The family moved to Amsterdam in 1934 and went into hiding for the Nazi pogroms in 1942. During her few years in hiding, Anne kept a diary, which after her death was published by her father's secretary. Anne died in 1945, probably because of a typhus epidemic in the concentration camp Bergen Belsen.

Hannie Schaft (1920-1945) is mentioned at number 19 in the list of Greatest Dutchman. She studied law in Amsterdam and entered the resistance against the Nazi occupation. She killed several Nazis and collaborators before being arrested and executed. Titus Brandsma (1881-1942) made it to number 42 on the list of Greatest Dutchman. He was a priest of the Carmelite order. Because of his strong outspoken resentment of the Nazi regime, he was arrested and sent to the concentration camp in Dachau. There he died in a medical experiment.

Answer: Tijs Verwest

Tijs Verwest is the birth name of DJ Tiesto, number 40 on the list. He was born in 1969 and started his career as a DJ in 1994. He won his first Grammy Award in 2015 for "All of Me", a remix of a single by John Legend.

Borsato (born 1966) started his career singing in Italian, but switched to Dutch lyrics in 1994. His best known hit is "Dromen zijn bedrog" ("Dreams Are Deceptive", 1994). De Groot (born 1944) is listed as number 82. His greatest hit is arguably "Welterusten meneer de president" (1966), a protest song against the Vietnam War. Ramses Shaffy (1933-2009) comes in at number 99. He is known for his frequent duets with Liesbeth List (1941-2020).

Answer: Alida Bosshardt

Majoor Bosshardt was born in 1913 with the first name Alida. She joined the Salvation Army (Christian charity organization) in 1931 and is best known for her actions in favour of the Jews during the Second World War and for the Amsterdam prostitutes from 1945 onwards. Although her real rank was lieutenant-colonel at the end of her career, she still was remembered as Major Bosshardt. She died in 2007 and occupies spot 16 in the list of Greatest Dutchman.

At number 65 we find Marga Klompé (1912-1986), the first woman who was a minister in any Dutch government. She was Minister of Social Work from 1956 till 1963 and Minister of Culture, Recreation and Social Work from 1966 until 1971. Anna von Schurman (1607-1678), number 76 on the list, was a polymath and polyglot. She worked as a painter and engraver, but also spoke fourteen languages. Belle van Zuylen (1740-1805), at number 98, was an author with dual nationality: Dutch and Swiss. Throughout the French speaking world she was known as Isabelle de Charrière.

Answer: Joseph Luns

Luns (1911-2002) is listed as number 45. He was a politician, best known for his interest in international affairs. He studied law and economics, and enrolled in the diplomatic service (1938-1952). From 1952 to 1971 he was Minister for Foreign Policy (renamed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1956). And from 1971 until 1984 he was Secretary-General of the NATO.

At number 5 we find Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), the humanist philosopher and author of the satirical "Laus Stultitiae" ("Praise of Folly"). However he has a more dignified reputation as the author of a Latin and Greek translation of the New Testament in one volume. Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677), listed as number 21, enlightened ethics by applying mathematical techniques on this topic. Starting with a few definitions, he tried to prove various theses, including the existence of God. De Groot (1583-1645) comes in at number 31 and is listed as a philosopher, but his major works are on international law and maritime law.

Answer: Cornelis Lely

Cornelis Lely (1854-1929), listed as number 43, was a civil engineer specialized in hydraulic engineering. He designed the plans to close the Zuiderzee (which thus became the Ijsselmeer) and to gain extra agricultural territory on the enclosed polders, by fully draining them. Severe storms in the Zuiderzee in 1916 proved the necessity to act upon Lely's plans, and after the First World War construction started. Between 1920 and 1967 most of the works were completed, resulting in the creation of 1,650 km² new land (of which about three quarters have been reserved for agriculture).

De Ruyter (1607-1676) is listed as number 7. He gained fame in the Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652-1654, 1665-1667 and 1672-1674). Piet Hein (1577-1629), at number 26 in the list, was indeed an admiral working for the Dutch East Indian Company and later the Dutch West Indian Company. As a privateer he captured a large bounty near Cuba in 1628. At number 95 comes in Maarten Tromp (1598-1653), the de facto supreme commander of the Dutch fleet from 1637 until his death.

Answer: Anton Philips

Anton Philips is listed 17 on the Greatest Dutchman. The Philips family started a plant for the production of domestic lighting in 1891. In 1912 Anton Philips (1874-1951) and his brother Gerard diversified into household appliances. Later on the Philips Group further diversified into medical equipment (most notably scanners for radiology). The lighting division was completely outsourced in 2018, and the household appliances division was sold in 2021.

At number 18 we find Freddy Heineken (1923-2002), the former chairman of the eponymous brewery. Albert Heijn (1865-1945), the founder of the eponymous supermarket chain, is listed at number 85. And at number 51 we find Joop van den Ende (born 1942), the founder of the television producing company Endemol.