Unlike Winkler, van der Ven had a purely academic background. He was bom on October 5th
1833 in Edam.71 His father had died just weeks before his birth, but his mother remarried and
his stepfather, an apothecary, appears to have taken good care of Elisa and his older sister. His
stepfather, along with the local doctor, are credited with having sparked the boy’s interest in
the natural sciences. In 1853, he enrolled at Leiden University at the Faculty of Mathematics
and Sciences. Even before being awarded the highest distinction for his doctoral thesis
(“summa cum laude”) in May 1858, he had already drawn attention by winning the gold
medal for his entry in a prize essay competition on an astronomical topic. He had also taken
on a job as assistant or “second” teacher of mathematics, science and cosmography (wiskunde,
natuurkunde en cosmographie) at the local secondary school (Gymnasium) in 1856. He was
later promoted to “first” teacher and remained on in Leiden until 1864, when he was
appointed headmaster of the newly founded polytechnic (Hogere Burgerschool or HBS) in
Haarlem. He also taught classes there. In 1870 he took on an additional post as headmaster of
the associated evening school (Burgeravondschool).
Besides introducing numerous students to mathematics and the sciences through his classes,
van der Ven also reached out to a wider audience of non-specialists through publications in
popular magazines. Between 1874 and 1909 he published a grand total of 133 articles in the
popular science journal Album der Natuur, which had been co-founded by van Breda’s
assistant Logeman some years before.72 In 1881 he was made a member of the board of
editors of the journal Eigen Haard. As a fellow editor, Jeronimo de Vries, explained after van
der Ven had passed away in a postscript to his obituary in the same journal:
“He was chosen, so that as a physicist he could be the adviser and right hand of the editorial
staff in the assessment and selection of those articles that touch on this field of study.”
De Vries elaborated how van der Ven had contributed to the journal for many years in
different ways, stressing his contribution in the form of a column on scientific matters:
“He was charged with the care for the so-called miscellany section (Verscheidenheid),
regularly published on the last page of each issue. Initially, for many years, providing this
section was his work. The articles comprised information about topics regarding physics,
discoveries, inventions, curious particulars, matters of general interest, with which he
pleasantly and usefully entertained both us and the readers of Eigen Haard.”73
71 For the following biographical data see two obituaries written by H.J. Calkoen: H.J. Calkoen, “Levensbericht
van Dr. E. van der Ven, 1833-1909,” in Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandsche Letterkunde (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1910), 60-78; H.J. Calkoen, “Dr. Eliza van der Ven,” Eigen Haard no. 34 (1909): 532-535.
72 Geertje Janssen, “Elisa van der Ven en het Teylers Museum” (master thesis, Leiden University, 2007), 48.
73 “De keuze viel op hem, opdat hij als natuurkundige de raadsman en rechterhand der redactie zou zijn, bij de
beoordeling en de plaatsing van die artikelen, die dit vak van studie raakten.” “[M]et name was hem opgedragen
de zorg voor de zogenaamde Verscheidenheid, geregeld voorkomende op de laatste bladzijde der aflevering. In
den eersten tijd, vele jaren lang, was de levering daarvan zijn werk. Het waren mededeelingen van
natuurkundigen aard, ontdekkingen, uitvindingen, curieuse bijzonderheden, zaken van actueel belang, met welke
hij ons en de lezers van Eigen Haard aangenaam en nuttig bezig hield.” Jeronimo de Vries, “Naschrift,” Eigen
Haard no. 34(1909): 535.
By the time van der Ven was writing these columns, he had been appointed curator at Teylers,
as successor to van der Willigen. Even in retrospect, his appointment seemed surprising to his
contemporaries. As was stated in his obituary:
“Van der Ven was [...] more of a mathematician than a physicist, and therefore this
appointment was greeted with surprise in academic circles.”7
And maybe there were other reasons for their surprise as well: although, without doubt, van
der Ven possessed a fine mind, he had not made a name for himself as a fully fledged member
of the Dutch scientific elite. He was certainly of a different calibre than his predecessor, never
for instance being elected a member of the prestigious Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences
(KNAW). He had also been passed over for a professorship in Leiden in 1866, despite having
been led to believe he would be appointed.75
Nevertheless, the trustees chose van der Ven from a pool of 16 candidates, as is revealed by
an overview the trustees drew up summarising all candidates’ qualifications.76 According to
this list, most of the applicants were teachers at a HBS, and many were in fact less qualified
than van der Ven. But there were also some formidable competitors. The most serious other
contender for the post was probably Pieter Adriaan Bergsma, the director of the Royal
Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at Batavia (Jakarta). 7 But Herman Haga, who
was appointed to the chair in physics at Groningen just a few years later and transformed his
institute into one of the nerve centres of Dutch experimental physics, applied for the
curatorship in Haarlem as well. At this point, however, Haga had just recently completed his
doctoral thesis in Leiden, so his potential might not have been discernible for the trustees yet.
What might also have helped tip the scales in van der Ven’s favour was his involvement in
many charitable causes. Throughout his period in Haarlem he was an active member of the
Haarlem section of the Maatschappij tot Nut van ‘t Algemeen and was an active member of
his Protestant, Reformed parish. Finally, the trustees might also have thought that an
inspirational teacher would contrast well with van der Willigen’s aloof manner vis-à-vis
amateurs, providing something of a fresh breeze at the Foundation. After all, the trustees
themselves had lost track of van der Willigen’s research efforts.
Whatever the trustees’ considerations, van der Ven’s contract left no doubt that he was
expected to perform research at Teylers. The third paragraph read:
74 “Van der Ven was [...] meer wiskundige dan natuurkundige, en daarom werd deze benoeming in de kringen
der geleerden dan ook met verwondering vernomen.” Calkoen, “Dr. Eliza van der Ven,” 533.
75 Calkoen, “Levensbericht van Dr. E. van der Ven, 1833-1909,” 69-70.
76 “Lijst van Sollicitanten Phys. Kabinet”, c. 05.1878, Haarlem, ATS, vol. 107.
77 Marijn van Hoorn, “Elisa van Der Ven and the Physical Laboratory o fthe Teyler Foundation (Haarlem), 1878-
1909,” Making Instruments Count: Essays on Historical Scientific Instruments Presented to Gerard L 'Estrange
Turner (1993): 283.
78 Calkoen, “Levensbericht van Dr. E. van der Ven, 1833-1909,” 72-73.