Jacobus Bontius (Jacob de Bondt) (1592, in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

– 30 November 1631, in

Batavia, Dutch East Indies Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia. Batavia can refer to the city proper or its suburbs and hinterland, the , which included the much larger area of the Residency of Batavia ...

) was a Dutch physician and a pioneer of

tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...

. He is known for the four-volume work ''De medicina Indorum''. His 1631 work "Historiae naturalis et medicae Indiae orientalis" introduced the word " Orang Hutan" into Western languages.Dellios, Paulette. 2008 "A lexical odyssey from the Malay World." ''Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages'' 23:1

Life

Bontius was born in

, the youngest child of eight of the physician Gerard de Bondt / Gerardus Bontius (1536–1599), professor at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

. Amongst his brothers were Reinier de Bondt / Regnerus Bontius (1576–1623), court physician to

Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upo ...

, and Willem de Bondt / Wilhelmus Bontius, law professor at Leiden University. Jacobus graduated

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from Leiden in 1614. He sailed to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

with

Jan Pieterszoon Coen Jan Pieterszoon Coen (; 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was a Dutch naval officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of ...

, for the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

''De medicina Indorum'' (1642)

Bontius' medical observations were published after his death. They include what is recognized as the first medical description of

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

. He reported on the

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

epidemic in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

in 1628. The second edition of 1658, put together by

Willem Piso Willem Piso (in Dutch Willem Pies, in Latin Gulielmus Piso, also called Guilherme Piso in Portuguese) (1611 in Leiden – 28 November 1678 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch physician and naturalist who participated as an expedition doctor in D ...

, was expanded and included material by Piso on the Americas. Donald F. Lach and Edwin J. Van Kley, ''Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume III: A Century of Advance. Book 1'' (1998), p. 457
Google Books
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bontius, Jacobus 1592 births 1631 deaths Leiden University alumni Dutch East India Company people People from Leiden Dutch tropical physicians Dutch people of the Dutch East Indies 17th-century Dutch physicians