1512) Angélique Paulet

Angélique Paulet (1592–1651). French précieuse, singer and lute-playing musician, one of the habitués of the famous literary salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet.

She often performed at the assemblies of the Chambre bleue by singing and playing the lute.

She was the daughter of the financier Charles Paulet, one of king Henry IV of France's secretaries. According to Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux, Henry IV was assassinated (by François Ravaillac) while on his way to visit her.

The musical instrument angélique, which first appeared in Paris in the 17th century, may have been named after her.

 

- "... she was called La Lionne rousse and La belle Lionne because of her red hair and proud poise." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang%C3%A9lique_Paulet

 

 

1511) Thomas Stafford

The Hon. Thomas Stafford (c. 1533 – 1557). English aristocrat involved in two rebellions against Queen Mary I.

He was the ninth child and second surviving son of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Ursula Pole.

In 1553 he travelled to Poland, obtaining the recommendation of King Sigismund Augustus who requested Mary restore him to the Dukedom of Buckingham.

Augustus's appeal appeared to have no effect. When Stafford returned to England in January 1554 he joined the rebellion led by Thomas Wyatt; this arose out of concern of Mary's determination to marry Philip II of Spain. The rebellion failed and Thomas was captured and briefly imprisoned in the Fleet Prison before fleeing to France. There, he intrigued with other English exiles and continued to promote his claim to the English throne.

Stafford was beheaded for treason on 28 May 1557 on Tower Hill, after imprisonment in the Tower of London. Thirty-two of his followers were also executed after the rebellion.

 

The portrait below is by Giovanni Battista Moroni.

 

 

 

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1510) Isabella Jagiellon

Isabella Jagiellon (1519 – 1559). Queen consort of Hungary. She was the oldest child of Polish King Sigismund I the Old, the Grand Duke of Lithuania and his Italian wife Bona Sforza.

In 1539, she married John Zápolya, Voivode of Transylvania and King of Hungary. At the time Hungary was contested between Archduke Ferdinand of Austria who wanted to add it to the Habsburg domains (see Royal Hungary), local nobles who wanted to keep Hungary independent, and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who saw it as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. While Isabella's marriage lasted only a year and a half, it did produce a male heir – John Sigismund Zápolya born just two weeks before his father's death in July 1540. She spent the rest of her life embroiled in succession disputes on behalf of her son. Her husband's death sparked renewed hostilities but Sultan Suleiman established her as a regent of the eastern regions of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary on behalf of her infant son. 

The region developed as a semi-independent buffer state noted for its freedom of religion. Ferdinand, however, never renounced his claims to reunite Hungary and conspired with Bishop George Martinuzzi who forced Isabella to abdicate in 1551. She returned to her native Poland to live with her family. Sultan Suleiman retaliated and threatened to invade Hungary in 1555–56 forcing nobles to invite Isabella back to Transylvania. She returned in 1556 and ruled as her son's regent until her death in 1559.

Her siblings were Sophia Jagiellon, Sigismund II Augustus, Anna Jagiellon, Catherine Jagiellon and Albert Jagiellon.

 

by Jacopino del Conte

Isabella Jagiellon Holding a Fan, after lost original by Titian or Jacopino del Conte

Isabella Jagiellon Holding a Zibellino, by Jacopino del Conte

 

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1509) Hedwig Jagiellon

Hedwig Jagiellon (1513 – 1573). Member of the Jagiellonian dynasty as daughter of Sigismund I the Old of Poland. She was Electress of Brandenburg by marriage to Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg.

She was the eldest daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland and his first wife, Hungarian Countess Barbara Zápolya, sister of the later King John I of Hungary. Her only full sibling, Anna, died at age 5. In 1515 Barbara Zàpolya died and King Sigismund remarried, and had six children with his second wife Bona Sforza. Although she grew up with her half brothers and sisters, Hedwig had personal tutors, and in the court she received the nickname of "reginula".

Her half siblings were: Anna Jagiellon,  Sophia Jagiellon, Isabella Jagiellon, Sigismund II Augustus, Catherine Jagiellon.

All paintings below are by Lucas Cranach the Elder but the last one.

 

Madonna and Child with Grapes

Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John

Madonna and Child

Madonna lactans

Hedwig Jagiellon in a Black Dress, by Giovanni Cariani

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1508) Stanisław of Masovia

Stanisław of Masovia (1501 – 1524). Polish prince member of the House of Piast in the Masovian branch. He was a Duke of Czersk, Warsaw, Liw, Zakroczym and Nur during 1503-1524 (under regency until 1518) jointly with his brother.

He was the eldest son of Konrad III the Red and his third wife Anna, a daughter of Mikolaj Radziwiłł the Old, Voivod of Vilnius and the first Grand Chancellor of Lithuania.

In their private lives, both Stanisław and his younger brother Janusz III were heavily inclined to drink and women; however, in order to continue his bloodline, in 1523 Stanisław started negotiations for marriage with Princess Hedwig of Poland, only surviving daughter of King Sigismund I and his first wife, Barbara Zápolya. The wedding never took place; one year later, and likely as a result of his dissolute lifestyle, Stanisław died in 1524.

The sudden death of Stanisław, and that two years later of his younger brother Janusz III, were considered suspicious at the time. According to cronichler Jan Długosz, the real cause of the death of both princes could be an inherited disease of the Masovian princes: tuberculosis.

Anna of Masovia, sister of Janusz and Stanisław, was the last representative of the line of Masovian-Piast.

 

by Hans Krell

 

1507) Stanisław Lubomirski

Stanisław Lubomirski (d. 1577). Polish nobleman and owner of the Sławkowice and Zabłocie estates.

In 1537 he married Laura de Effremis, from an old noble family of Bari (Italy). She died in 1542 and later Lubomirski married Barbara Hruszowska, with whom he had three children: Sebastian Lubomirski, Katarzyna Lubomirska and Anna Lubomirska.

 

by Giovanni Cariani

 

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1506) Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł

Mikołaj Radziwiłł, nicknamed The Red (1512 – 1584). Polish–Lithuanian nobleman, Count Palatine of Vilnius, Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, and Grand Lithuanian Hetman (from 1576) in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Together with his cousin Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł and the Radziwiłł family were granted title and position as Reichsfürst Prince of the Holy Roman Empire.

He became an advocate of Lithuanian sovereignty and thus a vocal opponent of political union with Poland, (Union of Lublin, 1569).

He was one of the most prominent converts and advocates of the Protestant faith in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and his line of the family became devoted members and defenders of the Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church until its extinction.

He was immortalized in the epic poem Radivilias (1592).

Son of Jerzy "Herkules" Radziwiłł and Barbara Kolanka.

 

-"In order not to confuse him with his namesake, the cousins ​​​​were given the nicknames on account of the color of their hair. Nicolaus III is best known as "the Red"and his cousin as "the Black"." https://www.instagram.com/p/ChvId9ioCbq/

 

- "The nickname "Rudy", or "Red", was a reference to the color of his hair." https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/11735877

 

by Giovanni Cariani

 

1505) Catherine Telegdi

Catherine Telegdi (1492–1547). Hungarian noble lady, daughter of royal treasurer Stephen Telegdi and his wife Margit Bebek de Pelsőcz.

In 1516 she married the deputy voivode of Transylvania Stephen VIII Báthory. They had four sons and four daughters, but Bàthory died in 1534. Their daughter Anna is mother of the famous countess Elizabeth Bàthory. 

 

Portrait of Catherine Telegdi in a Green Dress, by Palma Vecchio

Madonna and Child, by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Sacra conversazione, with Catherine Telegdi as Saint Catherine, by Giovanni Cariani

Venus, by Bernardino Licinio

 

 

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1504) Moyra Fraser

Moyra Fraser (1923 – 2009), Australian-born English actress and ballet dancer, who is best known for playing Penny in the long-running sitcom As Time Goes By.

In 1924 her family emigrated to the United Kingdom. She left school at 14 to take up a scholarship with Sadler's Wells Ballet, where she was befriended by Robert Helpmann. Fraser joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet after training and left the company to play the principal role in Song of Norway at the Palace Theatre, London. Following that Fraser appeared as Venus in The Olympians at Covent Garden, and starred in many plays and pantomimes.

Fraser's first film role was in the musical The Dancing Years (1950).

She first played Penny, the sister of Jean's first husband, in 1993, on As Time Goes By. She continued with the part until the programme's final episode in 2005.

 

- "Her grace, vivacity and flaming red hair were prominent on a variety of major dance stages before and after the second world war..." https://www.theguardian.com/.../dec/15/moyra-fraser-obituary

 

 

1503) Sigismund II Augustus

Sigismund II Augustus (1520 – 1572). King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the last male monarch from the Jagiellonian dynasty.

Sigismund was the only son of Italian-born Bona Sforza and Sigismund the Old. From the beginning he was groomed and extensively educated as a successor. In 1529 he was crowned vivente rege while his father was still alive. Sigismund Augustus continued a tolerance policy towards minorities and maintained peaceful relations with neighbouring countries, with the exception of the Northern Seven Years' War which aimed to secure Baltic trade. Under his patronage, culture flourished in Poland; he was a collector of tapestries from the Low Countries and collected military memorabilia as well as swords, armours and jewellery. Sigismund Augustus' rule is widely considered as the apex of the Polish Golden Age; he established the first regular Polish navy and the first regular postal service in Poland, known today as Poczta Polska. In 1569 he oversaw the signing of the Union of Lublin between Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and introduced an elective monarchy.

Sigismund Augustus married three times; his first wife, Elizabeth of Austria, died in 1545 at just eighteen. He was then involved in several relationships with mistresses, the most famous being Barbara Radziwiłł, who became Sigismund's second wife and Queen of Poland in spite of his mother's disapproval. The marriage was deemed scandalous and was fiercely opposed by the royal court and the nobility. Barbara died five months after her coronation, presumably due to ill health, however, rumours circulated that she was poisoned. Sigismund finally wedded Catherine of Austria, but remained childless throughout his life.

Following the death of his sister Anna in 1596 the Jagiellonian dynasty came to an end. Besides Anna, he had more siblings: Sophia Jagiellon, Isabella Jagiellon, Catherine Jagiellon and Albert Jagiellon.

 

by the circle of Tintoretto

 

by Tintoretto

by Jan Van Calcar

by Christoph Amberger

by Paris Bordone

 

 

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1502) Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia

Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (1798 - 1849). Russian prince, tenth child and fourth son of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

In 1824, Michael married his first cousin once removed, Princess Charlotte of Württemberg (1807–1873), the daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Charlotte took the name Elena Pavlovna upon converting to Orthodoxy. They had five daughters.

Mikhailovsky Palace was built by Carlo Rossi for Grand Duke Michael between 1819–1825. The Palace now holds the Russian Museum.

Michael's great-great-great-grandson Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg is the current head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Brother of Alexander I of Russia. 

 

 

1501) Françoise de Luxembourg-Ligny

Françoise de Luxembourg-Ligny (c. 1520 - 1566). Daughter of Charles I, Count of Ligny, and Charlotte of Estouteville. In 1535 she married Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden, who was 61. They had a son, Philibert, but in 1536 Bernhard died. Their second son, Christopher, was born in 1537.

In 1543 Françoise remarried to count Adolf IV of Nassau-Idstein.

 

The painting below is a detail from Venus with a Tiara, by Hans Besser or workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger.

 

 

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1500) Maria of Alania

Maria of Alania (born Martha; 1053–1118). Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates.

Her status as empress was considered a significant success for a newly unified Kingdom of Georgia, which would achieve regional influence comparable to that of Byzantium only during the reign of Martha's nephew, King David IV, who refused to carry a Byzantine title. Maria was the only non-Byzantine empress of the eleventh century.

 

- "After rejecting a proposal from Eudocia Macrembolitissa , he chose the "beautiful Maria" of Alania, she of the red hair, the alabaster skin, and the bright blue eyes." https://www.encyclopedia.com/.../anna-dalassena-c-1025-1105

 

 

1499) June McCall

June McCall (born Billie June Palinkas, 1934 - 1991). American pin-up model and actress.

She started modeling in her mid teens and was a Vargas cover girl in the early 50s. In 1951 McCall won a national contest sponsored by a hosiery company and was a featured performer in Gypsy Rose Lee's all-star show at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, Nevada in the summer of that same year. June frequently posed for cheesecake pictures for noted glamour photographers Andres de Dienes, Earl Moran, Tom Kelley, and Bernard of Hollywood.

She featured in uncredited minor parts in several films during the 50s and had guest roles on episodes of the TV programmes "Where Were You?" and The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959). 

 

- "June McCall was a strikingly gorgeous 50s pin-up model with a comely face, bright red hair, and a shapely 36-24-36 figure." https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564654/bio

 

 

1498) Saint Stanislaus Kostka

Stanisław Kostka (1550 – 1568). Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus Kostka.

He entered the Society of Jesus in Rome on his 17th birthday (28 October 1567).

On the evening of the feast of Saint Lawrence (10 August), Stanislaus fell ill with a high fever, and clearly saw that his last hour had come. He wrote a letter to the Blessed Virgin begging her to call him to the skies there to celebrate with her the glorious anniversary of her Assumption (15 August). His confidence in the Blessed Virgin, which had already brought him many favours, was this time again rewarded; on 15 August 1568, towards 4:00 in the morning, while he prayed he died.

The Holy See ratified his beatification in 1605; he was canonized in 1726. St. Stanislaus is a popular saint of Poland, and many religious institutions have chosen him as the protector of their novitiates. The representations of him in art are quite varied; he is sometimes depicted receiving Holy Communion from the hands of angels, or receiving the Infant Jesus from the hands of the Virgin, or in the midst of a battle putting to flight the enemies of his country. At times he is depicted near a fountain putting a wet linen cloth on his breast. He is invoked for palpitations of the heart and for dangerous cases of illness.

On 15 August 2018 Pope Francis wrote to the Bishop of Płock in honor of the 450th anniversary of Stanislaus's death. In his message, Pope Francis cites a maxim of Stanislaus's: “Ad maiora natus sum – 'I was born for greater things'".

 

- "He was of middle stature, of a fair height, his hair dark auburn, his face gently rounded..." https://archive.org/.../storyofststanisl00cole_djvu.txt

 

 

1497) Richard William "Dick" Dowling

Richard William "Dick" Dowling (1837 – 1867). Artillery officer of the Confederate States Army, who achieved distinction as commander at the battle of Sabine Pass (1863), the most one-sided Confederate victory during the American Civil War. It is considered the "Thermopylae of the Confederacy" and prevented Texas from being conquered by the Union. For his actions, Dowling received the "thanks of Congress" (of the Confederate States), Davis Guards Medal, Southern Cross of Honor, and Confederate Medal of Honor. Over a dozen other memorials have also been dedicated in his honor.

He was born in County Galway, Ireland. In 1845, the first year of the Great Famine, he left Ireland with his older sister Honora, bound to New Orleans.   

- "The town only had 4,000 residents then and the tall, red-haired, and handsome Dowling soon became a well-known bar and restaurant owner." https://www.irishcentral.com/.../richard-dowling-slaves

 

- "His personal acquaintances credited him with auburn hair, blue eyes and a fair and rosy complexion." https://books.google.it/books?id=Q3haBAAAQBAJ&pg=PP67...

 

- "He was also very handsome, with blue eyes and auburn hair by all accounts." https://thewildgeese.irish/m/blogpost...

 

 

1496) Abdulmejid I

Abdulmejid I (1823 – 1861). 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839.

He was born at the Beşiktaş Palace or at the Topkapı Palace, in Istanbul. His mother was his father's first wife in 1839, Valide Sultan Bezmiâlem.

Abdulmejid received a European education and spoke fluent French, being the first sultan to do so. Like Abdülaziz who succeeded him, he was interested in literature and classical music.

His biggest achievement was the announcement and application of the Tanzimat (reorganization) reforms which were prepared by his father and effectively started the modernization of the Ottoman Empire in 1839. For this achievement, one of the Imperial anthems of the Ottoman Empire, the March of Abdulmejid, was named after him.

 

 

 

1495) Bezmiâlem Sultan

Bezmiâlem Sultan (c. 1807 – 1853). Ninth consort of Sultan Mahmud II, and Valide Sultan to their son, Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire.

She was born in Georgia and belonged to the Machabeli princely family.

She married Sultan Mahmud in 1822, and was given the title of "Fifth Kadın". In 1823, she gave birth to her only son, Şehzade Abdulmejid. (later Abdulmejid I).

Like other influential Ottoman women, Bezmiâlem was a patron of arts and architecture.

 

- "She was known for her extremely pale complexion and her reddish blonde hair." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bezmi%C3%A2lem_Sultan

 

 

1494) Barbara Kolanka

Barbara Kolanka or Barbara Kołówna h. Junosza (end of the 15th century–1550). Polish noblewoman.

She was the daughter of Paweł Koła, a prominent Polish politician. Her father was a Chamberlain (since 1490) and castellan of Halicz who in 1502 rose to the rank of Voivod of Podolia.

In 1515 she married Jerzy "Herkules" Radziwiłł. They had three children: Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł, Anna Elżbieta Radziwiłł and Barbara Radziwiłł (1520–1551), who in 1547 secretly married king of Poland Sigismund II Augustus and was crowned the queen consort the following year.

 

All paintings below are by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

 

Judith with the Head of Holofernes

Princess from the Legend of Saint John Crysostom

Saint Barbara

Virgin and Child

 

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1493) Elizabeth Jagiellon

Elizabeth Jagiellon (1482 - 1517). Thirteenth child of Casimir IV, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania and his wife Elizabeth of Austria. In 1515 she married Frederick II of Legnica.

In 1517 she gave birth to a daughter, who died two weeks after, followed by Elizabeth herself. 

 

Madonna lactans, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (or workshop)

Lucretia, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (or workshop)

Lucretia, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (or workshop)

 

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1492) Tawhida Hanim

Tawhida Hanim (1850 – 1888). Egyptian princess and member of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.

She was the eldest daughter of Khedive Isma'il Pasha, and his first wife Shehret Feza Hanim.

In April 1869, Tawhida married Mansur Yeghen Pasha, son of Ahmad Pasha, descendant of a brother of Muhammad Ali Pasha.

 

- "She had beautiful auburn hair and green eyes, was slim, of medium height, and had great charm, enhanced by a remarkable intelligence." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawhida_Hanim

 

 

1491) Dürrüşehvar Sultan

Durru Shehvar Durdana Begum Sahiba, Princess of Berar (born Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar Sultan; 1914 – 2006). Ottoman princess, only daughter of Abdulmejid II, who was the last heir apparent to the Ottoman Imperial throne and the last Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate.

Highly respected and well-educated lady, the princess was fluent in French, Turkish, English and also Urdu. She was also a painter and a poet.

In 1931, her father arranged her marriage to Azam Jah, elder son and heir to Mir Osman Ali Khan. The two married at Villa Carabacel in Nice. 

 

- "Philip Mason, of the Indian Civil Service, described her as "a commanding figure, handsome of feature, with a clear fair complexion and auburn hair… No one could ignore her or slight her." https://en.wikipedia.org/.../D%C3%BCrr%C3%BC%C5%9Fehvar...

 

 

 

 

1490) Nazikeda Kadin

Nazikeda Kadın (born Princess Emine Marshan; 1866 – 1947), also nicknamed the Last Empress. First wife and chief consort of the last sultan, Mehmed VI of the Ottoman Empire.

Nazikeda was born Emine in Sukhumi to a family of Abkhazian principality. She was the daughter of Prince Hasan Bey Marshan and Fatma Horecan Hanım Aredba. She came to Istanbul in 1876, and married Prince Mehmed Vahdeddin later known as Mehmed VI, in 1885. She was the mother of three daughters, Fenire Sultan, Ulviye Sultan, and Sabiha Sultan.

After Mehmed's accession to the throne in 1918, she was given the title of 'Senior Kadın'. Mehmed was deposed in 1922, and sent into exile in 1924. Nazikeda followed him, and remained with him until his death in 1926. She spent her last years with her two daughters, Ulviye and Sabiha, and died at Cairo in 1947.

- "Nazikeda had honey coloured eyes, long auburn hair, and slender waist." https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Nazikeda_Kad%C4%B1n_(wife_of...

 

In the photo below, Nazikeda Kadin is the third from left.

 

 

1489) Maud of Wales

Maud of Wales (1869 – 1938). Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII. She was the youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom. Before her marriage, she was known as Princess Maud of Wales because her father was Prince of Wales at the time.

Maud, along with her sisters, Victoria and Louise, received the Imperial Order of the Crown of India from their grandmother Queen Victoria on 6 August 1887. Like her sisters, she also held the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert (First Class) and was a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

 

- "Maud and her sisters, who all inherited their mother’s auburn hair..." http://crownstiarasandcoronets.blogspot.com/.../maud-of...