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Hendrik Wilhelm "Henk" Bodewitz (born 13 October 1939) is a Dutch Sanskrit scholar. He was a professor at the Universities of
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
and later
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
between 1976 and 2002.


Career

Bodewitz was born in
Gramsbergen Gramsbergen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Grambarge'') is a small Dutch city on the Vechte, located in the municipality of Hardenberg and the province of Overijssel. The town is located on corridors of different transportation modes: The N34 (Zwolle - Emme ...
on 13 October 1939. Between 1952 and 1958 he attended the gymnasium in
Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In ...
. He obtained a degree in classical languages at
Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
in 1963 and subsequently a further degree in Indo-Iranian studies in 1966. Bodewitz started working at Utrecht University as an assistant professor of
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
in 1966. He did so for two years and then became an associate professor at
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
, which he remained until 1976. In 1973 Bodewitz earned his PhD under
Jan Gonda Jan Gonda (14 April 1905 – 28 July 1991) was a Dutch Indologist and the first Utrecht professor of Sanskrit. He was born in Gouda, in the Netherlands, and died in Utrecht. He studied with Willem Caland at Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 ...
at Utrecht University. In 1976 he was appointed as full professor of Sanskrit and Indo-European linguistics and he succeeded Gonda in that position. In 1988 his teaching assignment was changed to Indian and Iranian languages and cultures, especially Sanskrit. In 1992 his chair was scrapped in a reorganization in which the departments of Sanskrit of Utrecht and Leiden merged. Bodewitz was able to assume the professorship of Sanskrit at Leiden University the same year. He took up early emeritus status in 2002 due to the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system in the Netherlands. When he left he was the last full professor of Sanskrit in the Netherlands. Bodewitz was elected a member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
in 1987. In 1988 he was a founding member of the
Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodewitz, Henk 1939 births Living people Dutch Indologists Leiden University faculty Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Hardenberg Dutch Sanskrit scholars Utrecht University alumni Utrecht University faculty