author
Jr. Herman van Cappelle
1857–1932
A Dutch geologist, teacher, and museum director, he also helped preserve folklore in print. His work on myths and legends from the West Indies gives modern readers a glimpse into stories that once traveled mainly by word of mouth.
1 Audiobook
Mythen en sagen uit West-Indië
by Jr. Herman van Cappelle
About the author
Born in Amsterdam on October 2, 1857, Herman van Cappelle jr. became a respected Dutch geologist and educator. After his studies, he taught biology at the HBS in Sneek from 1882 to 1895, building a career that joined science, teaching, and public scholarship.
He later took on prominent museum work and is remembered as a museum director as well as a geologist. Beyond geology, he also wrote Mythen en sagen uit West-Indië, a collection that gathered myths, legends, and folk traditions from the West Indies and helped preserve material that might otherwise have been lost.
Van Cappelle died on August 24, 1932. Today he is notable not only for his scientific career, but also for the way his writing opened a window onto the storytelling traditions of the Caribbean world.