Biography
Van Wassenaer was born into a distinguished family of wealth, power and accomplishment--the House of Wassenaer. His grandfather, Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, was supreme commander of the confederate Dutch navy, and was killed in battle in 1665 in the Second Anglo-Dutch War; his father, Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam (younger), served as a general of the army in the War of the Spanish Succession, was defeated in 1703 in the Battle of Ekeren, and spent the rest of his career as a diplomat.
Van Wassenaer studied law and other subjects at the University of Leiden and, in 1723, married Dodonea Lucia van Goslinga (the daughter of Sicco van Goslinga), with whom he had three children. Van Wassenaer occupied high diplomatic, military and commercial posts, representing his country at the Congress of Breda. It is known that he was respected not only as a diplomat, but also as a musician.
Read more about this topic: Unico Wilhelm Van Wassenaer
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