HISTORIANS from Netherlands

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Dutch Historians of all time. This list of famous Dutch Historians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Johan Huizinga (1872 - 1945)

With an HPI of 69.40, Johan Huizinga is the most famous Dutch Historian.  His biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.

Johan Huizinga (Dutch: [ˈjoːɦɑn ˈɦœyzɪŋɣaː]; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.

2. Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (1798 - 1872)

With an HPI of 57.19, Johan Rudolph Thorbecke is the 2nd most famous Dutch Historian.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1848, amidst the liberal democratic revolutions of 1848. The new constitution transformed the country from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, with the States General and the Council of Ministers becoming more powerful than the king. The amended constitution also granted individual rights to residents and citizens of the kingdom. This made the constitution one of the more progressive at the time. Thorbecke is generally considered a founding father of the modern political system of the Netherlands.

3. Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1563 - 1611)

With an HPI of 56.34, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten is the 3rd most famous Dutch Historian.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563 – 8 February 1611) was a Dutch spy, merchant, traveller and writer. He travelled extensively along the East Indies regions under Portuguese influence and served as the archbishop's secretary in Goa between 1583 and 1588. He is credited with publishing in Europe important classified information about Asian trade and navigation that was hidden by the Portuguese. In 1596, he published a book, Itinerario (later translated as Discours of Voyages into Ye East & West Indies), which graphically displayed for the first time in Europe detailed maps of voyages to the East Indies, particularly India. During his stay in Goa, he meticulously copied the secret charts page by page. Even more crucially, he provided nautical data like currents, deeps, islands and sandbanks that were absolutely vital for safe navigation, along with coastal depictions to guide the way. The publication of the navigational routes enabled the passage to the East Indies to be opened to trading by the Dutch, French and the English. As a consequence, the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company would break the 16th-century monopoly enjoyed by the Portuguese on trade with the East Indies.

4. Reinhart Dozy (1820 - 1883)

With an HPI of 53.02, Reinhart Dozy is the 4th most famous Dutch Historian.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Reinhart Pieter Anne Dozy (Leiden, Netherlands, 21 February 1820 – Leiden, 29 April 1883) was a Dutch scholar of French (Huguenot) origin, who was born in Leiden. He was an Orientalist scholar of Arabic language, history and literature.

5. Johannes Meursius (1579 - 1639)

With an HPI of 50.59, Johannes Meursius is the 5th most famous Dutch Historian.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Johannes Meursius (van Meurs) (9 February 1579 – 20 September 1639) was a Dutch classical scholar and antiquary.

6. Martin van Creveld (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 48.42, Martin van Creveld is the 6th most famous Dutch Historian.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Martin Levi van Creveld (Hebrew: מרטין לוי ון קרפלד, [ˈmartin leˈvi ˌvan kreˈfeld]; born 5 March 1946) is an Israeli military historian and theorist.