Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha
Encyclopedia
Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha, sometimes known as KAR Bosscha or Ru Bosscha (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...

, 15 Mei 1865 – Malabar, Indonesia
Malabar, Indonesia
Malabar is an area in Indonesia in Java.It is in the province of West Java, in the Bandung District, south of the city of Bandung near Mount Malabar , a stratovolcano. It was formerly well-known as a hill station near to the town of Pangalengan for recreation during the Dutch period in Indonesia...

, 26 November 1928) was a planter
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 and administrator of the Malabar Plantation in Bandung, Indonesia.

Life and work

K.A.R. Bosscha was the son of renown Dutch physicist Johannes Bosscha
Johannes Bosscha
Johannes Bosscha Jr. was a Dutch physicist.Bosscha came from a family long known for their academic achievements. His great-grandfather and grandfather were classical scholars. His father, Johannes Bosscha Sr...

 and Paulina Emilia Kerkhoven. After gaining some formal education in engineering at Polytechnical School of Delft
Polytechnical School of Delft
Polytechnical School of Delft was founded by the decree of King William II of the Netherlands on June 20, 1842, in Delft, The Netherlands; this foundation replaced the Royal Academy Polytechnical School of Delft was founded by the decree of King William II of the Netherlands on June 20, 1842, in...

, in 1887 came out to Netherlands Indies and stayed with his uncle while working at Sinagar Estate near Cibadak (West Java) that his uncle owned. Work at his uncle's company gave him little satisfaction, thus after 6 months he went to Sambas (Borneo) to join his older brother John Bosscha, a geologist. During this time he worked on gold exploration and mining with his brother until his return to Sinager 1892 now as its administrator. He stayed at Sinagar Estate till 1895 and in 1896 he undertook the management of Malabar Estate near Pangalengan
Pangalengan
Pangalengan is a Subdistrict in the Bandung Regency, Indonesia. It is located south of the major West Java city of Bandung.Main industries of the Pangalengan district include dairy farming and tourism, the latter arising from the popularity of the many traditional villages and natural attractions...

 (Bandung
Bandung
Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

) until his death in 1928. Till this day the Malabar Estate plantation is still operational under state own company (PT Perkebunan Nusantara) management.

Little was known about his personal life, he remained unmarried till he died.

Philanthropy

K.A.R. Bosscha was also a philanthropist and continued his family's traditional interest in science. He most notably participated in the development of the Bosscha Observatory
Bosscha Observatory
Bosscha Observatory is the oldest observatory in Indonesia. The observatory is located in Lembang, West Java, approximately north of Bandung. It is situated on a hilly six hectares of land and is above mean sea level plateau...

 (Bosscha Sterrenwacht) at Lembang
Lembang
Lembang is a town in the province of West Java in Java, Indonesia. The population is 183,300.Lembang is situated between 1,312 and 2,084 above sea level. Its highest point is on top of Tangkuban Perahu Mt...

 near Bandung in 1923. His contribution consists of land that is now used as its location and as the main benefactor till the project completed in 5 years time (1928). He also sponsored the purchase of the telescope itself from Carl Zeiss Jena
Carl Zeiss Jena
Carl Zeiss Jena may refer to:* FC Carl Zeiss Jena, a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia* Carl Zeiss Jena , a German optics company based in Jena, Thuringia...

.

Bosscha also helped the development of the Cancer Center in Bandung (het Nederlandsch-Indisch Kanker Instituut) and the Technische Hoogeschool te Bandung in 1920 now known as Bandung Institute of Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
The Bandung Institute of Technology or Institute of Technology, Bandung is a state, coeducational research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. Established in 1920, ITB is the oldest technology-oriented university in Indonesia....

. He also created an elementary school for his workers children in 1901 known as Vervoloog Malabar, now known as Malabar Elementary School.

For his work and contribution to the society, he was awarded honorary citizenship of Bandung. An asteroid (11431 Karelbosscha
11431 Karelbosscha
11431 Karelbosscha is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 2039.0558492 days . The asteroid was discovered on May 13, 1971....

) was also named after him in 1971.

External links

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