Anna Maria Geertruida Schmidt (1911 - 1995)

Born 20 May 1911 in Kapelle, Zeeland, Nederland

Ancestors

Died 21 May 1995 at age 84 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland

Biography

Annie Schmidt is Notable.

Anna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt was Dutch writer. She is often referred to as the mother of Dutch theatrical song and the queen of Dutch children's literature. Praised for her distinctive Dutch language style, she's considered one of the greatest Dutch writers.

Although Schmidt dabbled in various forms of writing for adults, including poetry, songs, books, plays, musicals, and radio and television drama, she is best known for her children's books. Her series "Jip and Janneke" is particularly famous, and many of her works, such as "Pluk van de Petteflet," were illustrated by Fiep Westendorp.

Schmidt received the 1988 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her lasting contribution as a children's writer. The biennial award conferred by the International Board on Books for Young People is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. ^[1]

Eurovision Song Contest In 1956, Schmidt, together with Cor Lemaire, wrote two of the eight selected songs for the 1956 Nationaal Songfestival. One of the two songs, 'De Vogels van Holland,' was voted second by the viewers. Only this year, the first two songs were sent to the Eurovision Song Contest 1956. The song opened this song festival and thus goes down in history as the very first song ever performed at this music festival. The song was sung by Jetty Paerl, and the results other than the winner were never disclosed. ^[2]

Birth

Anna Maria Geertruida Schmidt was born on May 20, 1911 in Kapelle, daughter of reverend Johannes Daniël Schmidt, 40 and Geertruida Maria Bouhuijs. ^[3]

Relationship

In 1948, at the age of 37, she met the man of her life through a personal advertisement, the chemist Dr. Dick van Duijn. He found her beautiful and talented, which felt like a tremendous boost to her fragile self-confidence. However, because he was married with two children, it took years for their relationship to take a stable form. Van Duijn either couldn't or wouldn't divorce. It wasn't until December 1954, nearly four years after the birth of their son Flip on January 20, 1951, that they began living together in the bungalow they had built in Berkel en Rodenrijs. ^[4]

• Son Philip Dirk (Flip) van Duijn ^[5]

Death

Annie M.G. Schmidt died on May 21, 1995 in Amsterdam and was buried at the Zorgvlied cemetery in Amsterdam.^{[6] [7]} In 2007, she was posthumously honored by being included in the "Canon of the Netherlands" alongside national icons like Vincent van Gogh and Anne Frank.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia Biography Wikipedia Annie M.G. Schmidt
2. ↑ Wikipedia Eurovision Song Contest Wikipedia Annie M.G. Schmidt
3. ↑ Birth - Burgerlijke Stand Geboorte 1911, Kapelle, Zeeland, Nederland. Akte 22 (1911-05-22), Zeeuws Archief accessed via WieWasWie Permalink
4. ↑ Dick van Duijn Huygens Instituut
5. ↑ Wikipedia Wikipedia Flip van Duijn
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #21523
7. ↑ Death - Ads in De volkskrant, edition May 23, 1995

See also

• Wikidata: Item Q239522, nl:Wikipedia
• Wikidata: Item Q239522, en:Wikipedia