Background
He was de son of the rich merchant Abraham Pieterszoon de Haan (1795–1880) and Catharina Jacoba Bierens (1797–1835).
mathematician university professor
He was de son of the rich merchant Abraham Pieterszoon de Haan (1795–1880) and Catharina Jacoba Bierens (1797–1835).
In 1843 he completed a study in the exact sciences and received his doctorate in 1847 under Gideon Janus Verdam (1802–1866) for the work De Lemniscata Bernouillana.
After this he became a teacher of physics and mathematics at a gymnasium in Deventer. Since 1866 he was professor of mathematics at Leiden University. Since 1888 he was co-editor of the works of Christiaan Huygens and in 1892 edited the Algebra of Willem Smaasen (1820–1850).
He had a large library on mathematics, the history of science and pedagogy, which currently reesides at the Leiden University Library.
His most important contribution to mathematics consist of the reissuing of a large table of integrals. His doctoral students include Pieter Hendrik Schoute.