As an amateur microscopist I have long known of the contribution that Antoni van Leeuwenhoek made to the science of microbiology. During my last summer holiday my family and I were able to visit Delft, the city of my father. I was hoping to find a museum to commemorate Leeuwenhoek and his amazing contribution to early science. I was soon to be disappointed – except for a few faded panels and his grave markers there is little in Delft to show what an amazing force he was in the early scientific world.
I want to use this blog to highlight the influence of Leeuwenhoek and the other scientists of the Netherlands in the 17 th century – Holland’s Golden Age. While Dutch artists and philosophers are still well known and discussed, the names of many of the early scientists are fading away. These early pioneers can still influence our thoughts, inform our reason and delight us with their tenacity. It was people such as these who straddled the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, where scholasticism and faith began to give way to experimental science and reason. This blog hopes to commemorate this era and it will serve as an on-line museum and a central dispersion point for information on the Dutch Golden Age of Science.
Topical and civil suggestions, comments and corrections are always welcome.
Contact: greengarden@telus.net
