Johannes François Snelleman
Encyclopedia
Johannes François Snelleman (Rotterdam
, 26 December 1852 – The Hague
, 18 May 1938) was a Dutch
zoologist
, orientalist
, ethnographer
and museum director. He was a son of Christiaan Snelleman and Sara Lacombe. Snelleman was married three times, to Josepha Hendrika Dupont (1860-1899), Catharina Johanna Elisabeth Augusta Inckel (born 1870), and Theodora Maria Beun (b. 1887).
(Netherlands East Indies), with the objective to map the Hari
River basin to do research into the natural environment and the people. The expedition, organised by the Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap (Royal Netherlands Geographical Society; KNAG), was led by lieutenant J. Schouw Santvoort, Royal Dutch Navy, with members D.D. Veth (son of KNAG chairman P.J. Veth) and A.L. van Hasselt. Snelleman wrote a book about the expedition.
After the Sumatra Expedition Snelleman and Veth senior and junior kept a close contact. During a later KNAG expedition in Angola
in 1884/'85, D.D. Veth died of exhaustion. Together with his father P.J. Veth Snelleman wrote a book about D.D. Veth and the expedition in South West Africa
. Later, Snelleman would cooperate in a book series published by Veth, and titled Java, geographisch, ethnologisch, historisch (Java: geography, ethnography, history).
Snelleman was editor of the four volume Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië (Encyclopedia the Netherlands Indies), started in 1896 with P.A. van der Lith as sole editor. Snelleman cooperated with Van der Lith on volume two (1899) and became joint editor for volume three (1902). After the death of Van der Lith in March 1901, Snelleman completed the final volume (1905) as sole editor.
Together with H.D. Benjamins, Snelleman published the Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië (Encyclopedia of the Dutch West Indies)
With the same Benjamins, Snelleman started the journal :nl:De West-Indische Gids (West Indian Guide) in 1919.
In 1901 Snelleman was appointed director of the Ethnologisch Museum (Ethnological Museum) in Rotterdam
(later named Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde and currently Wereldmuseum Rotterdam) and the Maritiem Museum 'Prins Hendrik' (Maritime Museum 'Prince Hendrik') in that city. These two, thematically unconnected museums, were placed under a single directorship in 1885. He kept this position until early 1915, when he took his retirement due to ill-health.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, 26 December 1852 – The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, 18 May 1938) was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
, ethnographer
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
and museum director. He was a son of Christiaan Snelleman and Sara Lacombe. Snelleman was married three times, to Josepha Hendrika Dupont (1860-1899), Catharina Johanna Elisabeth Augusta Inckel (born 1870), and Theodora Maria Beun (b. 1887).
Expeditions and publications
Between 1887 and 1889 Snelleman participated as zoologist in a scientific expedition to Central SumatraSumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
(Netherlands East Indies), with the objective to map the Hari
Hari
Hari is an Avatar, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma...
River basin to do research into the natural environment and the people. The expedition, organised by the Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap (Royal Netherlands Geographical Society; KNAG), was led by lieutenant J. Schouw Santvoort, Royal Dutch Navy, with members D.D. Veth (son of KNAG chairman P.J. Veth) and A.L. van Hasselt. Snelleman wrote a book about the expedition.
After the Sumatra Expedition Snelleman and Veth senior and junior kept a close contact. During a later KNAG expedition in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
in 1884/'85, D.D. Veth died of exhaustion. Together with his father P.J. Veth Snelleman wrote a book about D.D. Veth and the expedition in South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
. Later, Snelleman would cooperate in a book series published by Veth, and titled Java, geographisch, ethnologisch, historisch (Java: geography, ethnography, history).
Snelleman was editor of the four volume Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië (Encyclopedia the Netherlands Indies), started in 1896 with P.A. van der Lith as sole editor. Snelleman cooperated with Van der Lith on volume two (1899) and became joint editor for volume three (1902). After the death of Van der Lith in March 1901, Snelleman completed the final volume (1905) as sole editor.
Together with H.D. Benjamins, Snelleman published the Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië (Encyclopedia of the Dutch West Indies)
With the same Benjamins, Snelleman started the journal :nl:De West-Indische Gids (West Indian Guide) in 1919.
Museum director
In the (late?) 1880s and 1890s, Snelleman was curator of the Museum voor Volkenkunde National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden.In 1901 Snelleman was appointed director of the Ethnologisch Museum (Ethnological Museum) in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
(later named Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde and currently Wereldmuseum Rotterdam) and the Maritiem Museum 'Prins Hendrik' (Maritime Museum 'Prince Hendrik') in that city. These two, thematically unconnected museums, were placed under a single directorship in 1885. He kept this position until early 1915, when he took his retirement due to ill-health.
External links
- Midden-Sumatra-expeditie 1877 - 1879
- Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië (online version Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren (Digital Library of Dutch Literature))
Sources
- Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 6 May 1915 (Dutch)
- Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 4 August 1915 (Dutch)
- Het Vaderland, 21 May 1938 (Dutch)
- Genealogical information Johannes François Snelleman (Dutch)