author
Willem Jan Cornelis van Hasselt
1795–1864
A 19th-century Dutch jurist and public figure, he moved easily between law, politics, history, and literary life. His writing reflects a wide curiosity, from genealogy and history to the great Dutch project of draining the Haarlemmermeer.
1 Audiobook
Het Haarlemmer-Meer-Boek
by Jan Adriaansz Leeghwater, Willem Jan Cornelis van Hasselt
About the author
Born in Amsterdam on 9 January 1795, Willem Jan Cornelis van Hasselt trained first with medicine in mind, but went on to study law and built his career as an advocate and judge. He later served in Dutch public life as a member of the Tweede Kamer and, afterward, as a judge at the court in Haarlem.
Alongside his legal and political work, van Hasselt was active as a writer and researcher. Sources describe him as deeply interested in history and genealogy, and he also wrote about the draining of the Haarlemmermeer, a major engineering and public works project of his time.
He was connected to the literary world as well, including as one of the founders of the literary society Oefening kweekt kennis. Van Hasselt died in Amsterdam on 2 March 1864, leaving behind a body of work that shows the broad interests of a learned 19th-century Dutch public intellectual.