12
2 Boarding School and University
hooked instrument used in catching cod. When Philips the Good of Burgundy
appointed his son as bishop of Utrecht, this was opposed by the Hooks. The
Cod van Schaffelaar and his men hid in the tower of Barneveld, which was
subsequently besieged by the Hooks. Rather than surrender, he bought free
passage for his men by jumping from the tower.
Barneveld was also known as a place with a number of excellent boarding
schools. Prominent among these was the boarding school for boys, Benno,
which was run by the husband and wife Kapteyn–Koomans. The name Benno
is derived from German and has the original meaning ‘strong as a bear’. Jacobus
Cornelius Kapteyn was born there on January 19, 1851.
We are in the fortunate circumstance that Kapteyn’s second daughter, Henriette Mariette Augustine Albertine Hertzsprung–Kapteyn (1881–1956), wrote
a biography of her father ([1], see also the Preface). This book contains information about Kapteyn that he himself will have told her, but also memories of his
wife (and Henriette’s mother) Catharina Elisabeth (Elise) Kapteyn–Kalshoven.
Henriette wrote the biography in 1928; she then lived separated from her husband, the astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873–1963), in Hilversum, in the
same street as her mother; it is obvious that they must have regularly discussed
the progress of the biography, while Henriette was working on it.
Gerrit Jacobus Kapteyn (1812–1879) and Elisabeth Cornelia Koomans
(1814–1896) were married in 1837 in their birthplace Bodegraven. Gerrit
Kapteyn was a teacher and came from a long family tradition of educators. He
had obtained all the formal qualifications that existed in his profession, which
was quite unusual. The couple started a boarding school in Voorschoten, near
Den Haag, but after a few years they had to give up because they could not
keep the ‘Haagse’ boys in check, who, accustomed to luxury, were difficult to
control and educate. Gerrit Kapteyn successfully applied for a job at a school in
Barneveld. After a few years he and his wife founded their own boarding school
for boys (see Fig. 2.1), which quickly became famous. In Voorschoten they had
already had two sons and in Barneveld another thirteen children were born.
Jacobus Cornelius was the tenth in the series of fifteen. He was named after
his aunt Jacoba Cornelia Kapteyn, who was called ‘Aunt Ko’; to his annoyance
Jacobus was also called ‘Ko’, a name he apparently hated greatly. His daughter
describes him in her biography [1] as follows:
Jacobus Cornelius was a delicate child and the only one that gave his parents
reasons for concern for his health, although he never was seriously ill. He was
slender built and pale and had a high voice. In bearing and complexion he made
a absent-minded and introverted impression. His long upper eyelids reinforced
that impression.
2 Boarding School and University
hooked instrument used in catching cod. When Philips the Good of Burgundy
appointed his son as bishop of Utrecht, this was opposed by the Hooks. The
Cod van Schaffelaar and his men hid in the tower of Barneveld, which was
subsequently besieged by the Hooks. Rather than surrender, he bought free
passage for his men by jumping from the tower.
Barneveld was also known as a place with a number of excellent boarding
schools. Prominent among these was the boarding school for boys, Benno,
which was run by the husband and wife Kapteyn–Koomans. The name Benno
is derived from German and has the original meaning ‘strong as a bear’. Jacobus
Cornelius Kapteyn was born there on January 19, 1851.
We are in the fortunate circumstance that Kapteyn’s second daughter, Henriette Mariette Augustine Albertine Hertzsprung–Kapteyn (1881–1956), wrote
a biography of her father ([1], see also the Preface). This book contains information about Kapteyn that he himself will have told her, but also memories of his
wife (and Henriette’s mother) Catharina Elisabeth (Elise) Kapteyn–Kalshoven.
Henriette wrote the biography in 1928; she then lived separated from her husband, the astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873–1963), in Hilversum, in the
same street as her mother; it is obvious that they must have regularly discussed
the progress of the biography, while Henriette was working on it.
Gerrit Jacobus Kapteyn (1812–1879) and Elisabeth Cornelia Koomans
(1814–1896) were married in 1837 in their birthplace Bodegraven. Gerrit
Kapteyn was a teacher and came from a long family tradition of educators. He
had obtained all the formal qualifications that existed in his profession, which
was quite unusual. The couple started a boarding school in Voorschoten, near
Den Haag, but after a few years they had to give up because they could not
keep the ‘Haagse’ boys in check, who, accustomed to luxury, were difficult to
control and educate. Gerrit Kapteyn successfully applied for a job at a school in
Barneveld. After a few years he and his wife founded their own boarding school
for boys (see Fig. 2.1), which quickly became famous. In Voorschoten they had
already had two sons and in Barneveld another thirteen children were born.
Jacobus Cornelius was the tenth in the series of fifteen. He was named after
his aunt Jacoba Cornelia Kapteyn, who was called ‘Aunt Ko’; to his annoyance
Jacobus was also called ‘Ko’, a name he apparently hated greatly. His daughter
describes him in her biography [1] as follows:
Jacobus Cornelius was a delicate child and the only one that gave his parents
reasons for concern for his health, although he never was seriously ill. He was
slender built and pale and had a high voice. In bearing and complexion he made
a absent-minded and introverted impression. His long upper eyelids reinforced
that impression.