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Hendrik Willem van Loon[lower-alpha 1] (January 14, 1882 – March 11, 1944) was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and children's book author.

Hendrik Willem van Loon
Born(1882-01-14)January 14, 1882
Rotterdam, Netherlands
DiedMarch 11, 1944(1944-03-11) (aged 62)
Connecticut
OccupationHistorian, journalist, author
EducationCornell University, University of Munich
GenrePopularizing
Notable worksThe Story of Mankind
Notable awardsNewbery Medal (1922)

Life


On December 20, 1939, a great sympathy meeting for Finland, then embroiled in the Winter War, was arranged in Madison Square Garden. In the picture from the left are former president Herbert Hoover (chairman of the Finland-committee), Dr. van Loon, and the mayor of New York Fiorello La Guardia.
On December 20, 1939, a great sympathy meeting for Finland, then embroiled in the Winter War, was arranged in Madison Square Garden. In the picture from the left are former president Herbert Hoover (chairman of the Finland-committee), Dr. van Loon, and the mayor of New York Fiorello La Guardia.

He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon[2] and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken.[3] He immigrated to the United States in 1902 to study at Harvard University and then Cornell University, where he received his AB in 1905.[4] In 1906[5] he married Eliza Ingersoll Bowditch (1880–1955), daughter of a Harvard 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 and again in Belgium in 1914 at the start of World War I.[4] He lectured at Cornell University from 1915 to 1916;[6] in 1919 he became an American citizen.[7]

Van Loon had two later marriages, to Eliza Helen (Jimmie) Criswell in 1920[8] and playwright Frances Goodrich Ames in 1927,[9][10] 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


Frontispiece to Van Loon's 1922 book Ancient Man
Frontispiece to Van Loon's 1922 book Ancient Man
The Young Nile, illustration by Van Loon for his book Ancient Man, 1922
"The Young Nile", illustration by Van Loon for his book Ancient Man, 1922

From the 1910s until his death, Van Loon wrote many books, illustrating them himself. Best remembered among these is The Story of Mankind (1921), a history of the world intended for children, which won the first Newbery Medal in 1922. The book was later updated by Van Loon, then again by his son, and later still by other historians.[11]

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.[12]

In 1923 and 1924, he was a professor of history at Antioch College.[4]

After having revisited Germany many times in the 1920s, he was banned from the country when the Nazis came to power.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]


Honors and distinctions


Van Loon was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1922 for his book The Story of Mankind.[10]

Van Loon was knighted by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1942.[10]

The World War II Liberty Ship SS Hendrik Willem Van Loon was named in his honor.


Works


Supposed etymology of the word mother in The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik van Loon
Supposed etymology of the word "mother" in The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik van Loon

A list of works by van Loon, with first publication dates and publishers.


Notes


  1. Asked how to pronounce his name, he told The Literary Digest, "I still stick to the Dutch pronunciation of the double o—Loon like loan in 'Loan and Trust Co.' My sons will probably accept the American pronunciation. It really does not matter very much."[1]
  2. My School Books was a chapter from the unpublished autobiography of Hendrik Willem van Loon made by the DuPont chemical company to demonstrate their new 'PX Cloth' on school books, and distributed free at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Further reading



References


  1. Funk, Charles Earle (1936). What's the Name, Please?. Funk & Wagnalls.
  2. National Archives and Records Administration. "Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925". U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 Jul 2013.
  3. Van Loon 1972, p. 19
  4. Van Loon, Hendrik Willem; Castagnetta, Grace (1937). The Arts. Simon and Schuster.
  5. Van Loon, Eliza Bowditch. Papers, 1906–1907, Radcliffe College
  6. van Minnen 2005, pp. 47–58.
  7. van Minnen 2005, pp. 59–70.
  8. Van Loon 1972, pp. 119–134.
  9. Van Loon 1972, pp. 149–167.
  10. "Hendrik Willem van Loon [1882-1944]: Arts and Letters". New Netherland Institute. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  11. van Minnen 2005, pp. 73–82.
  12. van Minnen 2005, pp. 83–108.
  13. van Minnen 2005, p. 177.
  14. Rudberg, Pontus (2022). "A transatlantic friendship: Dutch American historian and writer Hendrik Willem van Loon and his wartime Swedish contacts". In Wednel-Hansen, Astrid; Nordström, Katarina; Hoyer, Fransisca (eds.). To Take Us Lands Away: Essays in Honour of Margaret R. Hunt. Uppsala: Uppsala University. pp. 141–153. ISBN 978-91-513-1529-4.
  15. van Minnen 2005, pp. 182–185.
  16. "Review of The Fall of the Dutch Republic by Hendrik Willem Van Loon". The Athenaeum (4469): 667–668. 21 June 1913.


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hendrik Willem van Loon.
Awards
Preceded by
(none)
 Newbery Medal winner
1922		 Succeeded by

На других языках

[de] Hendrik Willem van Loon

Hendrik Willem van Loon (Künstlername Hendrik Willem VanLoon) (* 14. Januar 1882 in Rotterdam (Südholland); † 11. März 1944 in Old Greenwich, Connecticut) war ein niederländisch-amerikanischer Autor, Historiker, Journalist, Zeichner und Buchillustrator.
- [en] Hendrik Willem van Loon

[ru] Лоон, Хендрик Виллем ван

Хендрик Виллем ван Лоон[1] (нидерл. Hendrik Willem van Loon; 1882—1944) — голландско-американский историк, журналист и иллюстратор книг, первый лауреат медали Джона Ньюбери.


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