The Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie[1] (National Museum of Natural History) was a museum on the Rapenburg in Leiden, the Netherlands. It was founded in 1820 by Royal Decree from a merger of several existing collections including Temminck's own collection. This happened on the initiative of Coenraad Jacob Temminck, who saw the museum primarily as a research institute for the University of Leiden. The total collection was already quite large at the time, and continued to grow from foreign expeditions and by obtaining private collections from inheritances. The location is currently used by the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.
The location was originally a hofje called Hof van Zessen. In 1815 plans were made to build a museum there (the first building called a "museum" in Leiden). It opened in 1820, and until 1913, the museum normally opened to the public on Sundays. In 1913, the museum moved to a new building, with very little room available for exhibits, and in 1950, this room was also closed. After that, there were a few opportunities for guided tours, attending lectures, and temporary exhibitions.
In 1976, a paper, "Towards a New Museum", was produced. This led to the museum taking on more of a central curating role, lending pieces from its collection to other museums. The Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie and the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie merged in 1984.[2] A permanent public exhibition was still not present. That came in 1986, when the so-called "National Presentation" in the field of natural history was commissioned by the Dutch government. Planning began for a new building, which was completed in 1990 and launched in 1998 as "Naturalis".
^Vervoort W. (1977) Prof. Dr. Hilbrand Boschma 22 April 1893 - 22 July 1976 : Obituary and bibliography Zoologische Bijdragen Vol. 22 p. 3-28 PDF
^Hoogmoed M.S. (1995) In memoriam Prof. Dr. Leo Daniel Brongersma (1907-1994) Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 69 p. 177-201 PDF
^Bruggen A.C. van (1995) Willem Vervoort, eminent zoologist and museum director, a sketch of his life and work on the occasion of his 80th birthday in 1997 Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 323 p. 1-15 PDF
^Bruggen A.C. van, C. van Achterberg (2000) In memoriam Prof. Dr J.T. Wiebes (1931-1999), evolutionary biologist and systematic entomologistZoologische Mededelingen Vol. 74 p. 18-24 PDF
^Oijen M.J.P. van, W. de Ligny (2006) Marinus Boeseman, 1916-2006, a biography and a list of his publicationsZoologische Mededelingen Vol. 80-4 p. 1-8 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 214-215 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 219-220 PDF
^L.D. Brongersma, Leiden, 1978; Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie, 1878-1978, Scripta Geologica Vol. 48 pp. 37-96 PDF
^Bruggen A.C. van (1996) In memorium Dr. Agatha Gijzen (1904-1995), eminent museum historian and zoo biologistZoologische Mededelingen Vol. 70 p. 235-247 PDF
^Land J. van der (2003) In memoriam Jacobus Cornelis (Koos) den Hartog (1942-2000), marine naturalistZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 345 p. 9-17 PDF
^Fransen Ch., M. van Oijen (2008) L.B. Holthuis, ‘The institutional Memory’ of the Leiden Museum - ObituaryContributions to Zoology Vol. 77-3 p. 201-204 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 239-240 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 256-258 PDF
^Bruggen A.C. van der (2001) Dr Jacob van der Land, marine biologist extraordinaryZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 334 p. 7-20 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 259-260 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 261-262 PDF
^Achterberg C. van (1992) Obituary and bibliography of Jacobus van der Vecht (1906-1992)Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 66 p. 295-302 PDF
^Achterberg C. van (1999) Obituary Obituary and bibliography of G. van der Zanden (1915-1999)Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 73 p. 269-272 PDF
^Whitehead P.J.P., M. Boeseman, A.C. Wheeler (1966) The types of Bleeker's Indo-Pacific Elopoid and Clupeoid Fishes, Zoologische Verhandelingen, Vol. 84 p. 1-152 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 212-214 PDF
^Vos J. de (2004) The Dubois collection: a new look at an old collectionScripta Geologica Special Issue 4 p. 267-285 PDF
^De Jong C. (1970) A catalogue of the species of the genus Lomaptera (Coleoptera, Cetoniidae) in the Leiden and Amsterdam Musea, Zoologische Mededelingen 44 p. 251-278 PDF
^Winkler Prins C.F. (2004) Geological collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum (Leiden, The Netherlands): cultural heritage of the geosciences and miningScripta Geologica Special Issue 4 p. 293-304 PDF
^Achterberg C. van (1992) Obituary and bibliography of Gerard van Rossem (1919-1990)Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 66 p. 303-308 PDF
^Dekker R.W.R.J., E.C. Dickinson, H. Morioka (2001) Systematic notes on Asian birds. 18. Some nomenclatural issues relating to Japanese taxa described in the Planches Coloriées (1820-1839) and Fauna Japonica, Aves (1844-1850)Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 335 p. 199-214 PDF
^Dekker R.W.R.J. (2004) Type specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 2. Passerines: Eurylaimidae – Eopsaltriidae (Peters’s sequence) NNM Technical Bulletin 6 p. 1-142 PDF
^Winkler Prins C.F. (2004) Geological collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum (Leiden, The Netherlands): cultural heritage of the geosciences and miningScripta Geologica Special Issue 4 p. 293-307 PDF
^Fransen C.H.J.M., L.B. Holthuis, J.P.H.M. Adema(1997) Type-catalogue of the Decapod Crustacea in the collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, with appendices of pre-1900 collectors and materialZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 297-298 PDF
^Achterberg C. (1992) Obituary and bibliography of Hermanus Gerardus Maria Teunissen (1914-1922)Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 66 p. 309-311 PDF