Cornelis Jacobus Swierstra (22 October 1873,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

—11 March 1952,

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

-born South African

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. Swierstra studied entomology at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. He moved to South Africa in 1894, and was employed at

Transvaal Museum The Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, formerly the Transvaal Museum, is a natural history museum situated in Pretoria, South Africa. It is located on Paul Kruger Street, between Visagie and Minnaar Streets, opposite the Pretoria City Ha ...

from 1896. By 1909 he was assistant-director, and in 1921 he followed

Herman Gottfried Breijer Herman Gottfried Breijer or Breyer (12 July 1864, in Arnhem – 10 October 1923, in Morgenzon, Louis Trichardt dist.) was a Dutch-born South African naturalist and museologist, the son of Carl Arnold Breijer and his wife, Elize Wesser. Breij ...

as director of the museum. In 1936 he was elected first president of the South African Museums Association. In 1900, Swierstra married Niesje Kwak, with whom he had two children, and in 1912 Anthonia Johanna Franken, with whom he had four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swierstra, Cornelis Jacobus 1873 births 1952 deaths Dutch entomologists South African entomologists Dutch emigrants to South Africa Scientists from Amsterdam University of Amsterdam alumni