shall be able to blame me if I continue my eager quest for the extension of my knowledge of
nature in another country;”2
In an almost cruelly bizarre twist to the story, Brugmans died suddenly just five days after
Temminck penned his letter. A short biography later claimed that he had had just enough time
to get some of his paper work in order during his short illness.3 With Brugman’s death,
Temminck’s major opponent was out of the way, a fact which is sure to have helped bring
about the speedy establishment of the new museum. As for van Marum, he unexpectedly
threw his weight behind the new museum too. An example of his support is how he gave
Falck advance warning when members of the Dutch Royal Academy, where the former Royal
Cabinet of Natural History was now stored, decided to send a delegation to Falck in order to
formally complain about their losing their collection. As a member of the Academy, van
Marum was privy to this information.4 In another letter, sent around the time the final
decision to merge the three collections had been taken, van Marum assured Falck that it was
his aim to ensure “that the Museum should equal or surpass the foremost Museums in Europe
not just as far as birds are concerned but also in all other areas”, adding that “if I shall have
the opportunity to contribute to that aim, it will be a pleasure to me.”3
That he was so supportive of what essentially amounted to considerably raising Temminck’s
rank within academic circles - until about the middle of the 19th century an academic’s status
was determined as much by the collections that fell under his purview as it was by his other
activities - remains a little puzzling, for three reasons. Firstly, because of his apparent
antipathy towards Temminck; secondly because as secretary of the Holland Society, van
Marum was also in charge of the Society’s natural history collection, and its status was in
danger of being diminished by the establishment of the new museum; thirdly, because in
supporting this new museum van Marum effectually also undermined the future position of a
good friend of his, Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt.
Reinwardt was not only the director of the former Royal Cabinet of Natural History, but was
also chosen as Brugman’s successor as professor of botany in Leiden, which meant he was
also in charge of the university’s natural history collections. However, at the time of
Brugman’s death and the establishment of the National Museum of Natural History,
Reinwardt was stationed in the Dutch Colonies, literally on the other side of the world. He
had been there since 1815, and for the duration of his stay his duties at the Royal Cabinet
were being taken care of jointly by van Marum and Temminck. Perhaps this too made the
latter especially eager not to create the impression that he was trying to undermine Reinwardt
with his plans for a national museum. Temminck in fact praised Reinwardt’s work effusively
2 “word er niets, van een nationaal museum, o f blijft de inrigting voortdurende gebrekkig, dan zal men mij niet
ten kwade kunnen duiden, dat ik mijne begeerte en lust tot uitbreiding mijner natuurkundige kennis, in een ander
land voortzette;” Ibid.
Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, vol. 2 (Haarlem: J.J. van Brederode
1855), 1471.
4 M. van Marum to A.R. Falck, 08.09.1820, Haarlem, NHA, Archief van Marum, vol. 529, nr. 7.
“dat het Museum niet slegts wat de vogelen betrefl maar ook in alle de overige vakken, de eerste Musea van
Europa evenare o f overtreffe”; “Indien mij de gelegenheid moge voorkomen om tot dat oogmerk mede te
werken, zal ik mij een genoegen van maken.” M. van Marum to A.R. Falck, c. 09.1820, Haarlem, NHA, Archief
van Marum, vol. 529, nr. 7.
in his letter to Falck, stating “that, whatever the plan may be in this respect, it is nonetheless
fair that upon his return Reinwardt will not be relegated to the position of a subordinate or of
a possible substitute: there is no need to mention this point to Yr. Exc. as Reinwardt has
received too many tokens of your interest than that such a capable man, endowed with such
noble virtues both as a person and a friend, should need someone else to plead his affairs and
interests.”6 Yet despite these assurances, when Reinwardt did return to the Netherlands in
1822 Temminck’s initiative had effectually robbed him of both natural history collections that
would have fallen under his purview, had the new national museum not been founded. Small
wonder that he was bitterly disappointed when he heard about the establishment of the
National Museum on Java, and hurt by the fact that he had not even been kept in the loop
properly.7 If one takes into account that mail to the Dutch colonies took months to be
delivered, it becomes clear that the speedy establishment of the museum in fact precluded
Reinwardt’s involvement in the process - which everyone involved must in turn have been
aware of. Van Marum however was probably genuinely convinced that merging some of the
eclectic collections across the country would indeed help all students of natural history; he
might also well have believed that Reinwardt would be involved in organising and running
the new collection upon his return from the Colonies; and finally, he appears to have been . . . • 8 greatly disappointed by Reinwardt’s decision at precisely this time to extend his stay on Java.
Whatever the reasons, it is in itself striking just how pivotal van Marum’s position was. The
sequence of events as it unfolded around the establishment of Temminck’s museum provides
an indication of how Temminck’s initial worries were certainly not unfounded. Had van
Marum for instance judged it to be in Reinwardt’s best interest to resist Temminck’s plans,
the ornithologist would surely have had a harder time. Van Marum, too, clearly had Falck’s
ear and enjoyed comparatively easy access to the minister. So the entire episode as such can
also serve as a good example of just how influential van Marum was, a fact which is all the
more remarkable if one takes into account that in 1821 he was already a septuagenarian. But it
was not just old age from which he derived his authority, but also from his past contributions
to science and the high office he held. As secretary of the Holland Society of Sciences!!
roughly equivalent in status to other countries’ national academies — for more than a quarter
century he was one of the highest representatives of Dutch academia, and his membership of a
multitude of national and foreign academies (including the Royal Society and the Académie
des Sciences) bore witness to his immense networking skills. He had in turn been able to
establish that network because his intelligence and skills as a researcher were generally
recognised and appreciated. Although he had largely ceased to perform research of his own by
the time Temminck’s museum saw the light of day, the numerous publications he had penned
6 “dan, hoe o f zulks ook het plan moge zijn, zo is het nogthans billijk dat Reinwardt bij zijne terugkomst niet als
ondergeschikt of als eventueele plaatsvervanger worde teruggeschoven: deze snaar is het ook overbodig bij Uwe
Exc. aan te roeren, alzo Reinwardt te vele blijken van belangstelling van UHEG. ontvangen heeft, dan dat zo een
kundig man, met zulke edele deugden als mensch en vriend begaafd, iemand anders zoude behoeven om zijne
zaken en belangen te bepleiten.” C.J. Temminck to A.R. Falck, 17.07.1819, NL-HaNa, Familie Falck,
2.21.006.48, inv.-nr. 85. See also: Colenbrander, Gedenkschriften van Anton Reinhard Falck, 415.
7 Andreas Weber, Hybrid Ambitions: Science, Governance, and Empire in the Career o f Caspar G.C. Reinwardt
(1773-1854) (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2012), 186-187.
Andreas Weber and Martin Weiss, “Martinus van Marum en Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt: Vriendschap,
planten en musea,” Teylers Magazijn 110 (2011): 11-13.