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Hendrik Willem van Loon (January 14, 1882 – March 11, 1944) was a
Dutch-American Dutch Americans ( nl, Nederlandse Amerikanen) are Americans of Dutch descent whose ancestors came from the Netherlands in the recent or distant past. Dutch settlement in the Americas started in 1613 with New Amsterdam, which was exchanged with ...
historian, journalist, and children's book author.


Life

He was born in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. He immigrated to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in 1902 to study at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
and then
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, where he received his AB in 1905. In 1906 he married Eliza Ingersoll Bowditch (1880–1955), daughter of a
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
professor, by whom he had two sons, Henry Bowditch and Gerard Willem. The newlyweds moved to Germany, where van Loon received his Ph.D. from the University of Munich in 1911 with a dissertation that became his first book, ''The Fall of the Dutch Republic'' (1913). He was a correspondent for the Associated Press during the
Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
and again in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
in 1914 at the start of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. He lectured at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
from 1915 to 1916; in 1919 he became an American citizen. Van Loon had two later marriages, to Eliza Helen (Jimmie) Criswell in 1920 and playwright Frances Goodrich Ames in 1927, but after a divorce from Ames he returned to Criswell (it is debatable whether or not they remarried); she inherited his estate in 1944.


Career

From the 1910s until his death, Van Loon wrote many books, illustrating them himself. Best remembered among these is ''
The Story of Mankind ''The Story of Mankind'' is a book written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon. It was published in 1921. In 1922, it was awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children ...
'' (1921), a history of the world intended for children, which won the first
Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
in 1922. The book was later updated by Van Loon, then again by his son, and later still by other historians. He wrote many popular books aimed at young adults. As a writer he was known for emphasizing crucial historical events and giving a full picture of individual characters, as well as the role of the arts in history. He had an informal and thought-provoking style which, particularly in ''The Story of Mankind'', included personal anecdotes. As an illustrator of his own books, he was known for his lively black-and-white drawings and his chronological diagrams. In 1923 and 1924, he was a professor of history at
Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...
. After having revisited Germany many times in the 1920s, he was banned from the country when the Nazis came to power. In the summer of 1938, during an extended visit to Scandinavia, Van Loon met with refugees who had recently fled Nazi Germany and who gave him first-hand accounts of the terror that they had experienced. His book ''Our Battle, Being One Man's Answer to "My Battle" by Adolf Hitler'' (1938) earned him the respect of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in whose 1940 presidential campaign he worked, calling on Americans to fight totalitarianism.


Honors and distinctions

Van Loon was awarded the
Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
in 1922 for his book ''The Story of Mankind''. Van Loon was knighted by
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
in 1942. The
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
was named in his honor.


Works

A list of works by van Loon, with first publication dates and publishers. *''The Fall of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
'', 1913, Houghton Mifflin Co. *''The Rise of the Dutch Kingdom'', 1915, Doubleday Page & Co. *''The Golden Book of the Dutch Navigators'', 1916, The Century Co. *''A Short History of Discovery: From the Earliest Times to the Founding of Colonies in the American Continent'', 1917, David McKay *''Ancient man; the Beginning of Civilizations'', 1920, Boni and Liveright *''
The Story of Mankind ''The Story of Mankind'' is a book written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon. It was published in 1921. In 1922, it was awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children ...
'', 1921, Boni and Liveright *''The Story of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
'', 1923, Boni and Liveright *''
Witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
and Witch-Finders'', 1923, article from the June 1923 Mentor Magazine *''The Story of Wilbur the Hat'', 1925, Boni and Liveright *''Tolerance'', 1925, Boni and Liveright *''The Liberation of Mankind: the story of man's struggle for the right to think'', 1926, Boni and Liveright *''America: The Story of America from the very beginning up to the present'', 1927, Boni and Liveright *''
Adriaen Block Adriaen (Arjan) Block (c. 1567 – buried April 27, 1627) was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and ship's captain who is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four v ...
'', 1928, Block Hall *''Multiplex man, or the Story of Survival through Invention'', 1928, Jonathan Cape *''Life and Times of
Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Ne ...
'', 1928, Henry Holt *''Man the Miracle Maker'', 1928, Horace Liveright *''R. v. R.: the Life and Times of
Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally cons ...
'', 1930, Horace Liveright *''If the Dutch Had Kept Nieuw Amsterdam'', in '' If, Or History Rewritten'', edited by
J. C. Squire Sir John Collings Squire (2 April 1884 – 20 December 1958) was a British writer, most notable as editor of the ''London Mercury'', a major literary magazine in the interwar period. He antagonised several eminent authors, but attracted a coterie ...
, 1931, Simon & Schuster *''Van Loon's
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
: The Story of the World We Live In'', 1932, Simon & Schuster *''To Have or to Be—Take Your Choice'', John Day (1932) *''"Gold" 1933'', article from the Cosmopolitan March 1933 *''An Elephant Up a Tree'', 1933, Simon & Schuster *''An Indiscreet Itinerary or How the Unconventional Traveler Should See Holland by one who was actually born there and whose name is Hendrik Willem Van Loon'', 1933, Harcourt, Brace *''The Home of Mankind: the story of the world we live in'', 1933, George G. Harrap *''The story of inventions: Man, the
Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
Maker'', 1934, Horace Liveright *''Ships: and How They Sailed the Seven Seas (5000 B.C.-A.D.1935)'', 1935, Simon & Schuster *''Around the World With the Alphabet'', 1935, Simon & Schuster *''Air-Storming: A Collection of 40 Radio Talks'', 1935, Harcourt, Brace *''Love me not'', 1935 *''A World Divided is a World Lost'', 1935, Cosmos Publishing Co. *''The Songs We Sing'' (with Grace Castagnetta), 1936, Simon & Schuster *''The Arts'' (with musical illustrations by Grace Castagnetta), 1937, Simon & Schuster *''Christmas Carols'' (with Grace Castagnetta), 1937, Simon & Schuster *''Observations on the mystery of print and the work of
Johann Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...
'', 1937, Book Manufacturer's Institute/New York Times *''Our Battle: Being One Man's Answer to " My Battle" by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
'', 1938, Simon & Schuster *''How to Look at Pictures: a Short History of Painting'', 1938, National Committee for Art Appreciation *''Folk Songs of Many Lands'' (with Grace Castagnetta), 1938, Simon & Schuster *''The Last of the Troubadours: The Life and Music of
Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...
1740-1795'' (with Grace Castagnetta), 1939, Simon & Schuster *''The Songs America Sings'' (with Grace Castagnetta), 1939, Simon & Schuster *''My School Books'', 1939, E. I. du Pont de Nemours *''Invasion, being the personal recollections of what happened to our own family and to some of our friends during the first forty-eight hours of that terrible incident in our history which is now known as the great invasion and how we escaped with our lives'', 1940, Harcourt, Brace *''The Story of the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
'', 1940, George G. Harrap *''The Life and Times of
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
'', 1940, Simon & Schuster *''Good Tidings'' (with Christmas songs by Grace Castegnetta), 1941, American Artists Group *''The Praise of Folly by
Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
of Rotterdam, with a short life of the Author by Hendrik Willem van Loon of Rotterdam who also illustrated the Book'', 1942 *'' Van Loon's Lives: Being a true and faithful account of a number of highly interesting meetings with certain historical personages, from
Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
and
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
to
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...
and
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, about whom we had always felt a great deal of curiosity and who came to us as dinner guests in a bygone year'', 1942, Simon & Schuster *''Christmas Songs'', 1942 *''The Message of the Bells'' (with music by Grace Castagnetta), 1942, New York Garden City *''Fighters for Freedom: the Life and Times of
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
and Simon Bolivar'', 1943, Dodd, Mead & Co. *''The Life and Times of Scipio Fulhaber, Chef de Cuisine'', 1943 *''Adventures and Escapes of Gustavus Vasa, and how they carried him from his rather obscure origin to the throne of Sweden'', 1945 *''Report to
Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...
, upon the kind of world in which Hendrik Willem van Loon spent the first years of his life'' - an unfinished, posthumously published autobiography, 1947, Simon & Schuster


Notes


Further reading

* *


References


External links


Biography from the Universalist Historical Society (UUHS)
* * *

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Loon, Hendrik Willem 1882 births 1944 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers American illustrators American children's writers Cornell University alumni Cornell University faculty Historians of the Dutch Republic Historians of the Netherlands Loon, Hendrik Willem van Loon, Hendrik Willem van Loon, Hendrik Willem van Loon, Hendrik Willem van Loon, Hendrik Willem van Newbery Medal winners People with acquired American citizenship 20th-century American male writers World historians