P. J. Haaxman

P. J. Haaxman was a Dutch pharmacist who worked as an apothecary, first in Leiden and later in Rotterdam. Contemporary references describe him as a scientifically minded writer, which fits the practical, research-friendly tone of his published work.

He is known above all for Antony van Leeuwenhoek, de ontdekker der infusoriën, 1675–1875, published in 1875. That book is often noted as the first full-scale biography of Leeuwenhoek, showing Haaxman’s talent for turning scientific history into a readable narrative.

Haaxman also worked on pharmaceutical and chemical literature, including editorial and translation work. Although not much biographical detail is easy to confirm today, the surviving record presents him as a careful nineteenth-century science writer who helped preserve the story of one of microscopy’s great pioneers.