Person

William the Silent

1533–1584 · 16th century · Also known as William I, Prince of Orange, William of Orange

William the Silent, Prince of Orange from 1544, was born at Dillenburg into the house of Nassau. He led the Dutch Revolt against Philip II of Spain from 1568, and the northern provinces renounced Philip in 1581. He was assassinated at Delft in 1584 and is honoured as the father of the Dutch nation and founder of the house of Orange-Nassau.

William the Silent
Image: Adriaen Thomasz. Key · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Dutch RepublicFoundation, Summary

Mentioned in 5 state histories

County of NassauPrincipality of OrangeCounty of StolbergCounty of Nassau-DillenburgDutch Republic

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). William the Silent. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/william-the-silent
MLA
“William the Silent.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/william-the-silent. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “William the Silent.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/william-the-silent.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘William the Silent’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/william-the-silent (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻