Wilhelmina

Wilhelmina
/wil'euh mee"neuh, wil'hel-/; Du. /vil'hel mee"nah/, n.
1. Mount, former name of Trikora.
2. a female given name: derived from William.

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(as used in expressions)
Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard
Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria

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▪ margravine of Bayreuth
German  in full Wilhelmine Friederike Sophie  
born July 3, 1709, Berlin
died Oct. 14, 1758, Bayreuth, Upper Franconia

      sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia and margravine of Bayreuth (from 1735).

      She shared the unhappy childhood of her brother, whose friend and confidante she remained most of her life. She married Frederick, hereditary prince of Bayreuth, in 1731; when he became margrave in 1735, the pair set about making Bayreuth a miniature Versailles. They rebuilt the Bayreuth palace and the Bayreuth opera house, as well as other structures, and founded the University of Erlangen. The Margravine made Bayreuth one of the intellectual centres of Germany, surrounding herself with a little court of wits and artists which gained added prestige from the occasional visits of Voltaire and Frederick the Great. With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Wilhelmina's interests shifted from dilettantism to diplomacy. She acted as eyes and ears for her brother in southern Germany until her death.

▪ queen of The Netherlands
in full  Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria  
born Aug. 31, 1880, The Hague, Neth.
died Nov. 28, 1962, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn

      queen of The Netherlands from 1890 to 1948, who, through her radio broadcasts from London during World War II, made herself the symbol of Dutch resistance to German occupation.

      The daughter of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wilhelmina became queen on her father's death (Nov. 23, 1890) under her mother's regency. She was inaugurated Sept. 6, 1898, at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk, and soon gained widespread popular approval. On Feb. 7, 1901, she married Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and gave birth to a daughter, Princess Juliana, on April 30, 1909. During World War I, Wilhelmina was influential in maintaining The Netherlands' neutrality.

      When Germany invaded The Netherlands on May 10, 1940, Wilhelmina issued a proclamation to her nation of “flaming protest” and a few days later left for England with her family and members of the Cabinet. Throughout the war, she exhorted her people over Radio Orange to maintain their spirit until the nation's liberation, and she was welcomed back with enthusiasm when the German occupation was ended in 1945. After abdicating the throne in favour of Juliana on Sept. 4, 1948, because of poor health, Wilhelmina retired to her palace, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn. Her memoirs, Eenzaam maar niet alleen (1959; Lonely but Not Alone, 1960), reveal the deep religious feeling that dominated her life.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wilhelmina — von Oranien Nassau Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria von Oranien Nassau (* 31. August 1880 in Paleis Noordeinde, Den Haag; † 28. November 1962 auf Schloss Het Loo), Prinzessin von Oranien Nassau, war von 1890 bis 1948 Königin der Niederlande. Von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wilhelmina — Wilhelmina,   Königin der Niederlande (1890 1948), * Den Haag 31. 8. 1880, ✝ auf Schloss Het Loo (bei Apeldoorn) 28. 11. 1962; folgte ihrem Vater, König Wilhelm III., 1890 auf dem Thron, bis 1898 unter der Vormundschaft ihrer Mutter, Königin… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Wilhelmina — Wilhelmina1 [wil΄hel mē′nə, wil΄ə mē′nə] n. [Ger Wilhelmine, fem. of Wilhelm: see WILLIAM1] a feminine name Wilhelmina2 [vil΄hel mē′nä] (born Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria) 1880 1962; queen of the Netherlands (1890 1948) …   English World dictionary

  • Wilhelmina — Wilhelmina, Königin der Niederlande, geb. 31. Aug. 1880 im Haag, Tochter Wilhelms III., folgte diesem 23. Nov. 1890 unter Vormundschaft ihrer Mutter, der Königin Emma, 1898 selbständig, vermählt 7. Febr. 1901 mit Herzog Heinrich von Mecklenburg… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Wilhelmina I — (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria of Orange Nassau) 1880 1962, queen of the Netherlands 1890 1948 (mother of Juliana). * * * …   Universalium

  • Wilhelmina — f German: feminine version of WILHELM (SEE Wilhelm), formed with the Latinate suffix ina. This name was introduced to the English speaking world from Germany in the 19th century. It is now very rarely used. Variant: Wilhelmine. Cognates: Swedish …   First names dictionary

  • Wilhelmina I — (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria of Orange Nassau) 1880 1962, queen of the Netherlands 1890 1948 (mother of Juliana) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wilhelmina — (1880–1962)    Queen of the Netherlands. She suc ceeded her father, King William III, in 1890; during her minority un til 1898, her mother, Queen Emma, was regent. During the British blockade of South Africa around 1900, Wilhelmina won… …   Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands

  • Wilhelmina — noun of origin; the female form of Wilhelm (William). She comforted herself however, on the first appearance of her pregnancy, that so odious a surname should be qualified in her children with the genteelest and most elegant Christian names that… …   Wiktionary

  • Wilhelmina I — /wɪləˈminə/ (say wiluh meenuh) noun (Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria of Orange Nassau), 1880–1962, Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948 …  

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