Hendrik "Henrik" Sillem (12 August 1866 in
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 ...
– 13 July 1907 in
Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (164 ...
, Italy) was a Dutch jurist, mountaineer and
sport shooter
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such a ...
.
Personal life and education
Henrik Sillem was the son of Johann Gottlieb Sillem, banker with
Hope & Co. bankers,
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 ...
. His mother was
Jkvr. Judith Catharina Henriette Hoeufft.
Henrik Sillem studied law 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 graduated as Doctor of Law on 8 May 1891, with a thesis 'Het faillissement des verzekeraars' (Bankruptcy of insurance companies)' published by Roeloffzen en Hubner, Amsterdam in 1891.
[Academisch proefschrift 'Het faillissement des verzekeraars', uitgave Roeloffzen & Hubner, Amsterdam, 1891. Herdruk: Kessinger Publishing, LaVergne, Tennessee, USA, 2010]
On 28 May 1891 he married in
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
jkvr. Susanna Catharina Beatrix des Tombe (born 24 February 1869, Arnhem - died 6 November 1948) the daughter of jonkheer François Joan Adriaan des Tombe and Beatrix Cruys. The couple had two sons, Francois Johann and Henrick (Boet) Sillem, before divorcing in 1897.
In 1902, in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Sillem married Bertha Johanna Eva Reuser, (1879-1971), daughter of Johann and Katharina Anna Reuser Schmolck.
Henrik Sillem worked in Amsterdam as a lawyer, legal advisor and public prosecutor.
Olympic medalist
Together with his friend
Solko van den Bergh
Solko Johannes van den Bergh (4 June 1854 in The Hague – 25 December 1916 in The Hague) was a Dutch sport shooter.
Van den Bergh was a notary by profession who on 6 June 1880 married the noble Sophia Emma Nicoletta van Limburg Brouwer in ...
and the Frenchman
François Monod, Sillem initiated the first 'international shooting matches' (world championships in shooting) in 1897 in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
. These were the forerunners of the
matches
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
that were held in Paris in 1900, now considered to have been part of the Olympics. Sillem competed with the Dutch pistol team and won a
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
.
Mountaineer and explorer
When he was 19, Sillem climbed the
Matterhorn
The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...
from the northern side, with FG Waller. In 1902 he reached an altitude of 6,400 m (21,000 ft) on
Nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
in
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
. In 1905 he climbed the
Aconcagua
Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...
in the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
. He also climbed
Antarctica's Mount Kinsey
The Supporters Range () is a rugged range in the Queen Maud Mountains of Antarctica.
It is long, bordering the eastern side of Mill Glacier, from Keltie Glacier in the north to Mill Stream Glacier in the south.
So named by the New Zealand Geologic ...
and
Mount Ellie.
In March 1906, Henrik Sillem made the first ascent of the West Ridge of
Mount Cook
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
with guide
Peter Graham.
Sillem only reached the age of 40; in 1907 he fell while descending the
Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
Cable car
The idea fo ...
and was buried nearby, in
Courmayeur
Courmayeur (; Valdôtain: ) is a town and ''comune'' in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
History
The toponym ''Courmayeur'' has been mentioned as ''Curia majori'' (1233–1381), ''Corte Maggiore'' (1620), ''Cormoyeu'' (164 ...
.
References
External links
*
databaseOlympicsArticle in Journal of Olympic History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sillem, Henrik
1866 births
1907 deaths
Dutch jurists
Dutch mountain climbers
Dutch male sport shooters
Mountaineering deaths
New Zealand mountain climbers
Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands
Olympic medalists in shooting
Olympic shooters of the Netherlands
Lawyers from Amsterdam
Shooters at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Amsterdam
University of Amsterdam alumni
Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Sport deaths in Italy