University of Harderwijk

The '''University of Harderwijk''' (1648–1811), also named the ''Guelders Academy'' ({{lang-la|Academia Gelro-Zutphanica}}), was located in the town of [[Harderwijk]], in the [[Republic of the United Provinces]] (now: the [[Netherlands]]). It was founded by the province of [[Guelders]] (Gelre). Some well-known graduates of the University of Harderwijk are *artist [[Romeyn de Hooghe]] *explorer [[Jacob Roggeveen]] (1690) *physician [[Herman Boerhaave]] (1693) *Swedish scientist [[Carolus Linnaeus]] (1735) *statesman [[Herman Willem Daendels]] (1783) *poet [[A.C.W. Staring]] (1787) The university of Harderwijk didn't have a good reputation, because of its low standards. Nevertheless, it attracted many students with its low fees. Many students went to Harderwijk to graduate. In [[Samuel Johnson]]'s [http://www.samueljohnson.com/boerhaave.html Life of Herman Boerhaave], it says: :"He went to Hardewich, in order to take the degree of doctor in physick, which he obtained in July, 1693, having performed a publick disputation, "de utilitate explorandorum excrementorum in ægris, ut signorum." The title of this [[Latin]] disputation in English is "On the usefulness of examination of excrement as a sign of disease". The most famous foreign graduate, Linnaeus, stayed only a week, much of which time was spent printing his dissertation. The saying was that rich students could afford [[Leiden University]] and the poorer ones had to make do with Harderwijk. In many European cities, it was not possible to get a doctor's degree, and the Netherlands had a reputation for producing very good doctors. The university was closed in 1811 during the French occupation. Later, king [[William I of the Netherlands|William I]] tried to re-establish the university, without success. A saying in the Netherlands for a person whose scientific knowledge is questionable is "he's from the University of Harderwijk". == Modern culture == In the 1990s, The University became more known to a new audience thanks to the fictional character Prof. [[Fetze Alsvanouds]] ("Als vanouds" meaning "as of old".), who was played by [[Aart Staartjes]] and regularly appeared in the Dutch children's television program ''[[Het Klokhuis]]''. Alsvanouds was a professor at the University of Harderwijk. ==External links== *http://www.snma.nl/univhwijk/UnivOfHarderwijk.html Offline http://www.destentor.nl/regio/veluwewest/932420/Pedel-regeert-weer-op-universiteit.ece (in dutch) {{coord missing|Netherlands}}