Johan Engelbert Elias (18 August 1875 – 1 August 1959) was a Dutch historian known mostly for his important work on the history of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

's regency ("Vroedschap van Amsterdam").

Biography

He was born on a canal house on the

Keizersgracht The Keizersgracht (; "Emperor's canal") is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is the second of the three main Amsterdam canals that together form the Grachtengordel, or canal belt, and lies between the inner Herengracht and outer Prinsengr ...

to Gerbrand Pieter Elias, wealthy member of the Amsterdam regency family ''Elias'', and Johanna Engelberta ter Meulen. From 1892 to 1905 he worked as volunteer documentalist for the Amsterdam archives. During this time he collected data on Amsterdam regency members from the start of the Dutch republic in 1578 until the French occupation in 1795. He was able to collect data on 14,000 people, which he published in 1903 and 1905 as a two-volume work called ''De vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578-1795''. He is considered the father of genealogical research in the Netherlands. The introduction to the first volume was published separately as ''Geschiedenis van het Amsterdamsche Regentenpatriciaat'' in 1923. It shows the various relationships among Amsterdam regent families and their archives. In 1922 he was awarded an honorary title from the University of Amsterdam, and in 1927 he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Works

*
De vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578-1795
', 1903-1905 *''Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van het zeewezen'', 6 volumes, 1916-1930 *''Het voorspel van den eersten Engelschen oorlog'', 2 volumes, 1920 *
Geschiedenis van het Amsterdamsche Regentenpatriciaat
', 1923 *''De tweede Engelsche oorlog als het keerpunt in onze betrekkingen met Engeland'', 1930 *''De vlootbouw in Nederland in de eerste helft der 17e eeuw, 1596-1655'', 1933 *''De geschiedenis van een Amsterdamsche regentenfamilie. Het geslacht Elias'', 1937 *
Het Geslacht Elias : de geschiedenis van Een Amsterdamsche Regentenfamilie
', 1937, 289 pp. ( Delpher.nl) *''Genealogie van het geslacht Elias, Faas Elias en Witsen Elias'', Assen, 1942

References

External links

P.C.A. Geyl, 'Levensbericht', in: ''Jaarboek KNAW'', 1960J.R. Bruijn, 'Elias, Johan Engelbert (1875-1959)', in: ''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland'' 2 (1985)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elias, Johan Engelbert 20th-century Dutch historians 1875 births 1959 deaths Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Writers from Amsterdam