author
Jacob Klinkhamer
1738–1817
An 18th-century Dutch minister and writer, best known for a lively biography of Hugo Grotius, brought a preacher’s eye for character and moral drama to history. His work opens a small window onto the religious and literary world of the Dutch Republic in its later years.
1 Audiobook
Het leven van Hugo de Groot
by Jacob Klinkhamer
About the author
Born in Hoorn on January 3, 1738, he studied at Leiden and entered the Dutch Reformed ministry in the early 1760s. A biographical entry in the Biographisch woordenboek van protestantsche godgeleerden in Nederland records that he was confirmed as minister in Petten in 1761.
He is remembered today chiefly for Het leven van Hugo de Groot, an 18th-century Dutch life of Hugo Grotius. The book shows an interest not only in Grotius as a great scholar and statesman, but also in the dramatic human side of his story, which helps explain why it still attracts readers through modern digital editions.
Although not a widely famous author now, he stands out as one of those clerical writers who moved easily between sermon, scholarship, and popular history. He died in 1817.