Births on February 19

Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1678)

Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his older brother Cornelis de Graeff. Like him and their father Jacob Dircksz de Graeff he opposed the house of Orange. In the mid-17th century, during the First Stadtholderless Period, they controlled the finances and politics.Andries de Graeff followed in his father's and brother's footsteps and, between 1657 and 1672, was appointed mayor some seven times. De Graeff was a member of a family of regents who belonged to the republican political movement also referred to as the ‘state oriented’, the Dutch States Party, as opposed to the Royalists. Andries was called the last mayor from the dynasty of the "Graven", who was powerful and able enough to ruled the city of Amsterdam.De Graeff was an Imperial Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, an Ambachtsheer (Lord of the manor) from Urk en Emmeloord, during the late 1650s chiefcouncillor of the Admiralty of Amsterdam, chieflandholder of the Watergraafsmeer and dijkgraaf van Nieuwer-Amstel.Together with his brother Cornelis De Graeff he became an illustrious Patron and Art collector.