William of Orange

William I (1533 – 1584) became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau. He was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. Declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar Gerardts in Delft at a time when William's popularity was waning. In the Netherlands, he is also known as the Father of the Fatherland, and the Dutch national anthem, Het Wilhelmus, was written in his honour.