Simon van der Stel

Simon van der Stel was the first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1691), the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. He was interested in botany, establishing vineyards Groot and Klein Constantia, and producing a famous dessert wine. He is considered one of the founders of South African viticulture.

14 October 1639

Born on the same birth day (14 October): Ben Whishaw • Cliff Richard • Dorothy Kingsley • E. E. Cummings • Ferdinand VII • François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt • Hannah Arendt • Jessica Drake • Jim Jackson (basketball) • Joe Burgess • Kazumi Watanabe • Lois Lenski • Mohammad Khatami • Robert Simson • Shahar Perkiss • Thelma Coyne Long