Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie

Former Dutch natural history museum

The Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (left) on the Rapenburg in 1880. The building on the right is the Physisch Kabinet which was used for demonstrations of physics and public lectures.

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.

## History

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Raamsteeg building

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".

## Buildings and interior

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* 1820-1913: Building Papengracht/Rapenburg

* 1913-1990: Building Doezastraat/corner Raamsteeg

* 1913-1990: Raamsteeg side

* 1913-1990: "Dry warehouse", near the Van der Werffpark

* Hall with two elephant skeletons

* Pesthuis Leiden

## Former Directors

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* Coenraad Jacob Temminck 1820 - 1858
* Hermann Schlegel 1858 - 1884
* Fredericus Anna Jentink 1884 - 1913
* Eduard Daniel van Oort 1913 - 1933[3]
* Hilbrand Boschma 1933 - 1958[4]
* Leo Brongersma 1958 - 1972[5]
* Willem Vervoort 1972 - 1982[6]
* Jacobus Theodorus Wiebes 1982 - 1989[7]
* T. de Caluwé (?) 1989 - 1991
* W. van der Weiden 1991 - 2003

## Contributing scientists

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* Marinus Boeseman[8]
* Heinrich Boie[9]
* Johann Büttikofer[10]
* Rudolf van Eecke
* Berend George Escher
* Matthijs Freudenthal[11]
* Otto Finsch
* Agatha Gijzen[12]
* Wilhem de Haan
* James Edmund Harting
* Koos den Hartog[13]
* Jan Adrianus Herklots
* Lipke Holthuis[14]
* Johan Coenraad van Hasselt[15]
* George Junge
* Heinrich Kuhl[16]
* Jacob van der Land[17]
* Heinrich Christian Macklot[18]
* Johannes Govertus de Man
* Karl Martin[19]
* Gerlof Fokko Mees
* Salomon Müller
* Dirk Noordam[20]
* Coenraad Ritsema
* Willem Roelofs
* Adolph Cornelis van Bruggen
* Jacobus van der Vecht[21]
* Samuel Constantinus Snellen van Vollenhoven
* G. van der Zanden[22]

## Contributing artists

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* John Gerrard Keulemans
* Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek the Younger
* Joseph Smit
* Joseph Wolf

## Contributing to collections

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* Coenraad Jacob Temminck
* Pieter Bleeker[23][24]
* Eugène Dubois[25]
* Curt Eisner[26]
* Oliver Erichson Janson[27]
* Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn[28]
* Thure Kumlien
* Pierre Millière
* Hendrik Pel
* Walter Karl Johann Roepke
* Hermann von Rosenberg
* Gerard van Rossem[29]
* Philipp Franz von Siebold[30][31][32][33]
* Hermanus Gerardus Maria Teunissen[34]
* François Le Vaillant

## Varia

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* Stephen Jay Gould depicts his visit to the Raamsteeg building in Dinosaur in a Haystack in his essay "Four Antelopes of the Apocalypse".

Dutch Rijksmonument 25543

## See also

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* Scripta Geologica
* Zoologische Mededelingen
* Zoologische Verhandelingen

## References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden.

1. ^ L.B. Holthuis, Leiden, 1995; 1820 - 1958: Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie; 172 p. PDF
2. ^ L.D. Brongersma, Leiden, 1978; Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie, 1878-1978, Scripta Geologica Vol. 48 pp. 37-96 PDF
3. ^ Bayer Ch. (1933) In Memoriam E.D. van Oort 1876 - 1933 Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 16 p. 263-265 PDF
4. ^ Vervoort W. (1977) Prof. Dr. Hilbrand Boschma 22 April 1893 - 22 July 1976 : Obituary and bibliography Zoologische Bijdragen Vol. 22 p. 3-28 PDF
5. ^ Hoogmoed M.S. (1995) In memoriam Prof. Dr. Leo Daniel Brongersma (1907-1994) Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 69 p. 177-201 PDF
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Bruggen A.C. van, C. van Achterberg (2000) In memoriam Prof. Dr J.T. Wiebes (1931-1999), evolutionary biologist and systematic entomologist Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 74 p. 18-24 PDF
8. ^ Oijen M.J.P. van, W. de Ligny (2006) Marinus Boeseman, 1916-2006, a biography and a list of his publications Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 80-4 p. 1-8 PDF
9. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 214-215 PDF
10. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 219-220 PDF
11. ^ L.D. Brongersma, Leiden, 1978; Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie, 1878-1978, Scripta Geologica Vol. 48 pp. 37-96 PDF
12. ^ Bruggen A.C. van (1996) In memorium Dr. Agatha Gijzen (1904-1995), eminent museum historian and zoo biologist Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 70 p. 235-247 PDF
13. ^ Land J. van der (2003) In memoriam Jacobus Cornelis (Koos) den Hartog (1942-2000), marine naturalist Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 345 p. 9-17 PDF
14. ^ Fransen Ch., M. van Oijen (2008) L.B. Holthuis, ‘The institutional Memory’ of the Leiden Museum - Obituary Contributions to Zoology Vol. 77-3 p. 201-204 PDF
15. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 239-240 PDF
16. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 256-258 PDF
17. ^ Bruggen A.C. van der (2001) Dr Jacob van der Land, marine biologist extraordinaryZoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 334 p. 7-20 PDF
18. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 259-260 PDF
19. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 261-262 PDF
20. ^ Noordam-Kowalska A.L. (2004) In memoriam Dirk Noordam Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 346 p. 1-4 PDF
21. ^ Achterberg C. van (1992) Obituary and bibliography of Jacobus van der Vecht (1906-1992) Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 66 p. 295-302 PDF
22. ^ Achterberg C. van (1999) Obituary Obituary and bibliography of G. van der Zanden (1915-1999) Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 73 p. 269-272 PDF
23. ^ 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
24. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 212-214 PDF
25. ^ Vos J. de (2004) The Dubois collection: a new look at an old collection Scripta Geologica Special Issue 4 p. 267-285 PDF
26. ^ Eisner C. (1966) Parnassiidae-Typen in der Sammlung J. C. Eisner, Zoologische Verhandelingen 81 p. 1-81 PDF
27. ^ 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
28. ^ Winkler Prins C.F. (2004) Geological collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum (Leiden, The Netherlands): cultural heritage of the geosciences and mining Scripta Geologica Special Issue 4 p. 293-304 PDF
29. ^ Achterberg C. van (1992) Obituary and bibliography of Gerard van Rossem (1919-1990) Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 66 p. 303-308 PDF
30. ^ 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
31. ^ 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
32. ^ Winkler Prins C.F. (2004) Geological collections of the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum (Leiden, The Netherlands): cultural heritage of the geosciences and mining Scripta Geologica Special Issue 4 p. 293-307 PDF
33. ^ 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 material Zoologische Verhandelingen Vol. 311 p. 297-298 PDF
34. ^ Achterberg C. (1992) Obituary and bibliography of Hermanus Gerardus Maria Teunissen (1914-1922) Zoologische Mededelingen Vol. 66 p. 309-311 PDF

52°09′30″N 4°29′09″E﻿ / ﻿52.15833°N 4.48583°E﻿ / 52.15833; 4.48583

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