E. van (Emile) Konijnenburg

Born in The Hague on October 7, 1869, and dying there on April 27, 1956, Emile van Konijnenburg was a Dutch hydraulic and civil engineer. Dutch biographical sources describe him as trained at the Polytechnical School in Delft, where he graduated in 1892, and note that his career moved between public works in the Netherlands and engineering work in the Middle East.

He is best known to readers today for Shipbuilding from Its Beginnings, a substantial three-volume history of shipbuilding published in English in 1913. The book stands out for the way it combines technical knowledge with a broad historical view, making it appealing to listeners interested in ships, craftsmanship, and the long story of naval design.

Sources also suggest that van Konijnenburg had an artistic side alongside his engineering career, which helps explain the vivid, visual quality associated with his historical writing. Even now, his name survives chiefly through this detailed and unusually wide-ranging study of maritime construction.