City in the province of Southern Holland on the Schie River, with about 96,000 inhabitants. Delft received its statute as an au tonomous community from Count William II (1227–1256) in 1246. Un til 1795, it was one of the voting towns in the States of Holland. Be fore he was murdered in the Prinsenhof (now a museum) in 1584, William I of Orange resided for some years in Delft. He was interred in the New Church, like many other members of the Orange-Nassau family after him. Piet Heinand Antoni van Leeuwenhoekwere buried in the Old Church. In 1842, the precursor of the present University of Technology was founded, initially as a royal academy for the education of engineers.
See also KEYSER, Hendrick de (1565–1621).
Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands. EdwART. 2012.