Jan Rudolf Thorbecke

Background

Thorbecke was born in Zwolle January 14, 1798. His father Frederik Willem was a Lutheran tobacco manufacturer of German descent, while his mother Christine Regina was born in the Lower Saxon Osnabrück.

Education

Little is known of his youth, beyond the fact that he was sent in the year of Waterloo to Amsterdam for his education. For two years he stayed with a Lutheran clergyman of the name of Sartorius, whilst attending the lectures of the Athenaeum Illustre. In 1817 he commenced his studies at Leiden University, proving a brilliant scholar, and twice obtaining a gold medal for his prize essays. In 1820 he obtained the degrees of Doctor of Letters. and Doctor of Laws.

Career

In the following years Thorbecke undertook a journey of research and study in Germany, staying at most of her famous universities, and making the acquaintance of his best-known contemporaries in the fatherland. At Giessen he lectured as an extraordinary professor, and at Gottingen, in 1824, published his treatise, Ueber das Wesen der Geschichte. After his return to Amsterdam in 1824 Thorbecke wrote his first political work of any importance, Bedenkingen aangaande het Rechl en den Staat (" Objections anent Law and the State "), which by its close reasoning and its legal acumen at once drew attention to the young barrister, and procured him in 1825 a chair as professor in Ghent University. Here he wrote two pamphlets cf an educational character before 1830. The Belgian revolt of that year forced Thorbecke to resign his position at Ghent, and he subsequently went to Leiden. He did not approve of the Belgian movement, nor of the part that Europe played in it, and published his views in three pamphlets, which appeared in the years 1830 and 1831. In 1831 he was appointed professor of jurisprudence and political science at Leiden University. In that capacity, and, before his appointment at Leiden, as a lecturer on political science, history and economics at Amsterdam, he gained great reputation as a political reformer, particulaily after the publication of his standard work, Aanteekeningen op de Crondwet (" Annotations on the Constitution, " 1839), which became the textbook and the groundwork for the new reform party in Holland, as whose leader Thorbecke was definitely recognized. Thorbecke's political career until his death, which occurred at the Hague on the 4th of June 1872, is sketched under Holland: History. Thorbecke's speeches in the Dutch legislature were published at Deventer in six volumes (1867 - 1870), to which should be added a collection of his unpublished speeches, printed at Groningen in 1900. The first edition of his Historische Schetsen (" Historical Essays ") was issued in 1860, the second in 1872.

Thorbecke died at his home in The Hague on 4 June 1872, at the age of 74. His funeral furnished the occasion for an imposing national demonstration, which showed how deeply he was revered by all classes of his countrymen.

Achievements

• Hated by some, he is nowadays considered a towering figure in Dutch parliamentary history. There are three statues of Thorbecke (one in Amsterdam, one in The Hague and one in Zwolle) and a room in the Dutch parliament building is named after him.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Aanteekening Op De Grondwet, Part 1-2 (1906) (Dutch Edition)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Commentatio de Perfecto Oratore E Sententia Ciceronis: Ad Quastionem Literariam AB Ordine Philosophiae Theoreticae Et Literarum Humaniorum Academiae R (Latin Edition)

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • De briefwisseling van J.R. Thorbecke (Rijks geschiedkundige publicatie?n : Kleine ser) (Dutch Edition)
  • Parlementaire Redevoeringen: 1862-1863 (Dutch Edition)
  • Thorbecke op de romantische tour (Griffioen) (Dutch Edition)

Politics

Originally a loyal supporter of the conservative government of William I, Thorbecke developed a more critical view of the government and indeed the autocratic system of government throughout the 1830s. His increasingly strong support for constitutional reform is shown in a series of essays he published from 1839.

Interests

• Politicians

  Of Dutch statesmen during the Napoleonic period, Thorbecke admired Falck and Van Hogendorp most, whose principles he strove to emulate.

Connections

Father:

Frederik Willem

Mother:

Christine Regina

Wife:

Adelheid Solger

References

• Rondom 1848: De politieke ontwikkeling van Nederland 1840-1858 (Dutch Edition)
• Thorbecke en de wording van de Nederlandse natie (Sunschrift) (Dutch Edition)