'Man gave names to all the animals', lecture by Pieter van Wingerden

On the occasion of Pieter van Wingerden's recent PhD defense, the Special Collections department organizes an exhibition about the life and work of Johan Conrad van Hasselt. On November 7, Van Wingerden will give a lecture under the title of 'Man gave names to all the animals. Research into natural history at the UB Groningen (1816-1820)'. After the English-spoken lecture of about 30 minutes, there will be a debate, drinks and the possibility to view the exhibition.

From 1816 to 1820 two young naturalists studied in Groningen under professor Theodorus van Swinderen. Two hundred years ago—on September 8, 1823—one of them, Johan Conrad van Hasselt, passed away on Java. Two years earlier—on September 14, 1821—the other one, Heinrich Kuhl, had died there as well. Traces of these young naturalists can be found in the University of Groningen Library. Not only their own publications and publications on their life and work, but also traces of use in several natural historical publications. This exhibition/lecture sheds new light on the student years of Kuhl and Van Hasselt based on the University Library’s collection.