| 1632 |
In Amsterdam, Rembrandt paints The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp. |
| 4 Aug 1944 |
Anne Frank arrested and deported from Amsterdam, to Auschwitz. |
| May 1960 |
Anne Frank Huis opens as a cheezy tourist trap. |
| 25 Mar 1969 |
Yoko Ono and John Lennon conduct a "Bed-In" at the Amsterdam Hilton, Room 902, which lasts until the 31st: "Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton, Talking in our bed for a week,
The news people said Hey, what you doin' in bed? I said, We're only tryin' to get us some peace!" |
| 15 Apr 1999 |
Dutch airlines KLM issues an apology for shredding 400 ground squirrels at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. The squirrels did not have proper importation papers, and thus were forced to meet their fate of grinding steel rotary blades. A public outcry forced KLM's apology. |
| 26 Jun 2000 |
Using overwhelming force of batons, water cannon, and bulldozer, riot police violently evict 150 squatters from the Swammerdam neighborhood. Their homes and gardens, built on derelict land, are bulldozed. |
| 6 May 2002 |
Dutch right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn is shot six times in the head as he leaves a recording studio in Hilversum, near Amsterdam. His party platform was based on repeal of the discrimination clause of the constitution, an odd position considering that Fortuyn was homosexual. It is not clear what assassin Volkert van der Graaf's motive was, speculations ranging from Fortuyn's public statements regarding fur farming (van der Graaf is a founder of that country's Animal Liberation Front) to his sympathies towards Dutch Muslims. |
| 27 Nov 2003 |
Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner announces that Holland plans to recriminalize the sale of marijuana and other recreational drugs to tourists. |