Leiden University Historian Wim van den Doel Honored with 2024 Boerhaave Biography Prize
Professor of Contemporary History Wim van den Doel has won the 2024 Boerhaave Biography Prize. Van den Doel receives the prize for his book ‘Snouck: Het volkomen geleerdenleven van Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’.
Snouck Hurgronje (1857-1936) was a Dutch Arabist and Islamic scholar who lived and worked in the former Dutch East Indies for many years. According to the Boerhaave Biography Prize jury, Van den Doel has succeeded in capturing this life in ‘a complete and fascinating scholarly biography’, placing the subject’s life in a broader context of science, politics and religion. ‘Reading this book contributes to understanding much of what is happening now,’ the jury stated.
About the prize
The triennial Boerhaave Biography Prize is an initiative of the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) and Rijksmuseum Boerhaave and is awarded to the best Dutch biography about a scientist. The prize emphasises the importance of biographies in the history of science, and consists of a medal and a monetary award of 2,500 euros. This year’s award ceremony will take place on Friday, 6 December from 16:30 to 17:30.