Gylan Kain (1942–2024), poet who set the stage for rap music 

Gylan Kain was a groundbreaking poet whose work with The Last Poets helped create modern performance poetry and set the stage for rap music.

Hannah Pick-Goslar (1928–2022), Holocaust survivor and friend of Anne Frank

Hannah Pick-Goslar was one of best friends and was often mentioned in her famous diary.

Lou Ottens (1926–2021), inventor of the cassette tape

Lou Ottens was a Dutch engineer who invented the cassette tape, one of the most popular music formats of the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.

Eddie Van Halen (1955–2020), legendary Van Halen guitarist

Eddie Van Halen was co-founder and iconic guitarist for the hard rock band Van Halen.

Rutger Hauer (1944–2019), “Blade Runner” star

Versatile Dutch actor starred in “Batman Begins” and “Ladyhawke.”

Johan van Hulst (1911–2018), Holocaust hero

Dutch principal saved hundreds of Jewish children during the Holocaust.

Cheick Tioté (1986–2017), former midfielder for Newcastle United

The former midfielder for Newcastle United in the English Premier League died after he collapsed while training.

Piet Keizer (1943–2017), Dutch soccer star

International soccer star played for Ajax Amsterdam.

Marion Pritchard (1920–2016), Dutch Holocaust hero

Dutch woman helped save the lives of many Jews during the Holocaust.

Jules Schelvis (1921 - 2016)

Jules Schelvis, a Dutch historian who was the last insurgent of the Nazis' Sobibor World War II extermination camp, died Sunday evening in his native Netherlands, according to multiple news sources, including The Associated Press. He was 95. The death was announced by the Amsterdam-based Sobibor Foundation. The cause of death wasn’t immediately reported. In an Oct. 14, 2013, ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the uprising in the concentration camp, Schelvis was honored along with Philip Bialowitz and Thomas Blatt as the last insurgents of Sobibor. The trio received medals of merit during the observance.

Miep Gies, Hero of the Holocaust

For decades, schoolchildren the world over have learned about Anne Frank. The teenager who hid with her family from the Nazis, in an attempt to escape the concentration camps where she later died, has become a household name. From time to time, Frank's writing turned to the scant six visitors her family sometimes received in the annex. As we grow up, we learn less about them than we do about the Frank family, but they're as deserving of international fame as Frank was, because they were the brave friends who worked to keep the Franks hidden. Their names were Victor Kugler, Johannes Kleiman, Bep Voskuijl, Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl, Jan Gies and Miep Gies.

Father's Grief Brings Daughter Fame

A grieving father honors his daughter's memory by trying to make her life's dream come true.

Fanny Blankers-Koen: The Flying Housewife

Dutch track athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918–2004) ran so fast she was called "The Flying Housewife." She was so fast she was given a bicycle to encourage her to slow down. She was so fast she was the first woman to win four Olympic gold medals and the first to do it at one Olympics. She was 30 at the time, the mother of two, and .