Dutch Pioneers of the Earth Sciences

Dutch pioneers of the earth sciences History of Science and Scholarship in the Netherlands, volume The series History of Science and Scholarship in the Netherlands presents studies on a variety of subjects in the history of science, scholarship and academic insti- tutions in the Netherlands. Titles in this series . Rienk Vermij, The Calvinist Copernicans. The reception of the new astronomy in the Dutch Republic, -. , --- . Gerhard Wiesenfeldt, Leerer Raum in Minervas Haus. Experimentelle Natur- lehre an der Universität Leiden, -. , --- . Rina Knoeff, Herman Boerhaave (-). Calvinist chemist and physician. , --- . Johanna Levelt Sengers, How fluids unmix. Discoveries by the School of Van der Waals and Kamerlingh Onnes, , --- . Jacques L.R. Touret and Robert P.W. Visser, editors, Dutch pioneers of the earth sciences, , --- Editorial Board K. van Berkel, University of Groningen W.Th.M. Frijhoff, Free University of Amsterdam A. van Helden, Utrecht University W.E. Krul, University of Groningen A. de Swaan, Amsterdam School of Sociological Research R.P.W. Visser, Utrecht University Dutch pioneers of the earth sciences Edited by Jacques L.R. Touret and Robert P.W. Visser Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences P.O. Box , GC Amsterdam, the Netherlands T + - F+ - E [email protected] www.knaw.nl --- The paper in this publication meets the requirements of « iso-norm () for permanence © Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Contents ’ Treatise on the Grounds of Holland (): W.H. Zagwijn Geology in the Low Countries in the period - A forgotten source Le Francq van Berkhey, author of De Natuurlijke historie van Holland The mineral resources of Holland The Dutch ground auger The deep well of Amsterdam About the clay beds in Holland Presentation of the sand beds About peat beds and earths The natural changes which the beds underwent and synthesis In retrospect - Emile den Tex Introduction Werner’s neptunistic interpretation of basalt Vulcanistic and plutonistic interpretations of basalt Martinus van Marum Adriaan Gilles Camper Conclusion : Lydie Touret From natural crystals to models The first attempts: the terra cotta models of Romé de l’Isle From terra cotta to pear wood From mineral models to crystal classes Why work on Haüy’s collections today? Acknowledgements References ’ W. Saeijs Introduction Haüy’s crystallography and idealised forms The method for measuring and plotting Haüy’s models A procedure for identifying Haüy’s minerals Some species in Haüy’s mineralogy Conclusion Geert Vanpaemel Geology in Belgium The academy The geological prize essays Belgian geology in (-), ‘ ’ Jacques L.R. Touret The student years in Bonn Zirkel and Sorby, the great inspirators The prize competition of the Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen A brief but bright career in the Netherlands Philosophie der geologie The discovery of CO in fluid inclusions A dramatic end Vogelsang’s heritage Acknowledgements References F.R. van Veen Introduction Staring archive Staring’s youth and education The ten days’ campaign PhD thesis Geological map Appointment at Delft Lecture notes: topics and sequence Lecture notes: contents Leaving Delft Acknowledgements ... ’ Patricia E. Faasse Introduction Staring Staring’s map Conclusion Acknowledgements : Jacobus J. de Vries Introduction Early concepts and developments Dawn of scientific hydrogeology Concluding remarks References Eric W.A. Mulder Introduction Mosasaur discoveries in the eighteenth century Eighteenth-century Mosasaur interpretation Turtles Acknowledgements ... Diederik Visser Introduction Acknowledgements - - von Arthur Wichmann in Utrecht References Preface Founded in by the King Louis Napoleon under the complicated, french-inspired name of ‘Koninklijk Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letter- kunde en Schoone Kunsten’, the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences () is now a respected institution, with a number of important missions: advice to the government on strategic matters, scientific forum for Academy members, advanced research through its own institutes, etc. One aspect of these many activities has taken a relative importance in recent years: the preservation and elaboration of the cultural heritage of the country, either related to the Academy itself (Commissie Geschiedschrijving ) or to other areas of scientific activities. This type of research falls broadly within the scope of the history of the sciences, which presents the challenge to combine a specialized scientific knowledge with the specific requirements of his- torical research. It is not easy to combine these skills in a single individual, especially for domains as broad as earth sciences, which includes disciplines as different as palaeontology, hydrology or geophysics. In , R. Hooykaas, a chemist by training and a historian of science of international renown, had thus the idea to initiate a working group, including scientists and historians, that aimed at promoting the study of the history of the earth sciences. This Committee for the History of Earth Sciences ( Commissie voor de Geschiedenis van de Aardwetenschappen) has regularly functioned since, after the retirement of R. Hooykaas under the leadership of E. den Tex. The first task that the committee set itself was to support projects dealing with former Dutch colonies. One of the results was a substantial book on the geology of Suriname.∗ Towards the end of the nineties the committee started to focus on the development of geology in the Netherlands. It is almost self- evident that the period first chosen was the nineteenth century. It was in this period that here as elsewhere the foundations were laid for modern geology. * Th. E. Wong et al. eds, The history of earth sciences in Suriname (Amsterdam 1998) viii + 479 p. This time corresponds to a complicated, sometimes tumultuous period in Dutch history, in which in a relatively short time the country was trans- formed from a republic into the kingdom of the Netherlands. It is truly remarkable that in the first decades of the century, despite all political prob- lems, a number of distinguished scientists managed to do research and stay in close contact with most of the leading scientists abroad, thanks notably to a travel aptitude and ability to master foreign languages which seem, at all times, have been characteristics of the Dutch. Another typical feature, together with a tradition of education, which dates back to the seventeenth century, is a relative modesty, a desire to stay aloof from triumphalistic pompousness as exhibited by countries like France or England. Dutch scientists were well informed, could be extremely critical of the ‘masters’ of the time, but they liked to present their findings in small, mostly provincial groups. Important for scientific exchange were the many learned societies, like the Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen in Haarlem (founded in and still existing to-day), which were typical of the Dutch situation. On November , our committee organized a symposium on ‘Dutch pioneers of the earth sciences’. It was held at the Trippenhuis, the premises of the and met with an unexpected success, both from speakers and audi- ence. It indicates a marked desire of to-day Dutch earth scientists and, we hope, from a broader public, to know more about their scientific predeces- sors. The present book, superbly edited and printed by the publishing department of the , is directly issued from this symposium. It has some supplementary chapters, which, for one reason or another, could not be pre- sented at the symposium. In selecting the pioneers, we did not follow very strict rules, nor did we try to be exhaustive. There may have been other pioneers, some of them perhaps better known than those found in this book. But the choice was not at random. Broadly arranged in chronological order, the selected names reflect the desire of the different authors, most of them experienced university professors, to throw some light on individuals who have been important in the development of their respective disciplines and who have not the place they deserve in the international literature on the history of the earth sciences. In the first contribution, W.H. Zagwijn pays tribute to Le Francq van Berkhey, a medical doctor roughly contemporaneous with another, more famous, doctor-geologist, James Hutton. In his ‘Treatise on the grounds of Holland’(), marked by the influence of Buffon, van Berkhey approached the study of the very special Dutch geology, dominated by turf and sand, in a way that was decidedly modern. Next, E. den Tex, describing the debate between Martinus Van Marum and Adriaan Gilles Camper on the neptunistic versus plutonistic interpretations of basalt, opens a series of three contributions which, in fact, have some internal coherence. Directly or indirectly, all deal with the personality of Martinus van Marum, first direc- tor of Teyler’s Museum and secretary of the Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen in Haarlem. The very generous funding at his disposal from the bequest

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