The third Dutch celeb* I have ever been aware of, when I was still back at home and studying physics at college, must almost certainly be Christiaan Huygens, the polymath scientist, well know for his studies on optics, lenses and astronomy. A pal of Spinoza, he was in correspondence with several other great men of the time.
Also, it turns out he stems from a family of well respected cultural icons of the Golden Age, with his father Constantijn Senior, being a poet, composer and secretary to two Princes of Orange and his brother, Christiaan, a scientist too.
The Huigens' House, Hofwijk, in Voorburg, currently hosts an exhibition about this influential family and it's anyway worth a visit since it's a very striking, elegant building with formal gardens and a full program of Christmas activities.
* the other two being Van Gogh and Ruud Gullit
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| Constantijn's marble bust in the Scheveningse Bos |
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