Johann Huizinga
| Johan Huizinga | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
7 December 1872 Groningen, the Netherlands |
| Died | 1 February 1945 (aged 72) De Steeg, the Netherlands |
| Occupation | historian, professor, writer |
| Employer | Groningen University (1905-1923), Leiden University (1915-1942) |
| Works | The Autumn of the Middle Ages, Homo Ludens |
Johan Huizinga (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjoːɦɑn ˈɦay̯zɪŋxaː]; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature ten times.
Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two years after his birth, he started out as a student of Indo-Germanic languages, earning his degree in 1895. He then studied comparative linguistics, gaining a good command of Sanskrit. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the role of the jester in Indian drama in 1897.
It was not until 1902 that his interest turned towards medieval and Renaissance history. He continued teaching as an Orientalist until he became a Professor of General and Dutch History at Groningen University in 1905. In 1915, he was made Professor of General History at Leiden University, a post he held until 1942. In 1916 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 1942, he spoke critically of his country's German occupiers, comments that were consistent with his writings about Fascism in the 1930s. From then until his death in 1945, he was held in detention by the Nazis. He died in De Steeg in Gelderland, near Arnhem, just a few weeks before Nazi rule ended, and he lies buried in the graveyard of the Reformed Church at 6 Haarlemmerstraatweg in Oegstgeest.
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