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Leiden University alumni

  • RembrandtRembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn signed his first name alone, the way Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo were known. In 1633 he added a single letter, a "d"…
  • Wander Johannes de HaasWander Johannes de Haas was born on the 2nd of March 1878 in Lisse, a small town near Leiden in the Netherlands. He would go on to attach his name to three…
  • René DescartesRené Descartes opened his treatise on emotions, the Passions of the Soul, with a startling promise. He would write on the topic, he said, "as if no one had…
  • Joris BorghoutsJoris Frans Borghouts entered the world on the 17th of June 1939 in Ginneken. His academic path led him to Leiden University where he earned his doctorate in…
  • Geertruida de Haas-LorentzGeertruida Luberta Lorentz entered the world on the 20th of October 1885 in Leiden, Netherlands. Her father was Hendrik Lorentz, a physicist who would later…
  • Hendrik LorentzHendrik Antoon Lorentz died on the 4th of February 1928, and three days later something remarkable happened at his funeral in Haarlem.
  • Nout WellinkArnout Henricus Elisabeth Maria Wellink arrived in the small village of Bredevoort on the 27th of August 1943. He began his academic journey at Leiden…
  • Christiaan HuygensChristiaan Huygens was born on the 14th of April 1629 into one of the most connected families in the Dutch Republic. His father, Constantijn, exchanged…
  • Pieter GeylPieter Geyl spent thirteen months inside Buchenwald concentration camp with a half-finished argument in his pocket. The Dutch historian had written an…
  • André WinkAndré Wink was born in 1953, in Hollandia, Netherlands New Guinea. This location is now known as Jayapura, Indonesia. He studied at Leiden University and…