Jan Ligthart (11 January 1859 - 16 February 1916) was a Dutch

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He became known for his innovative educational methods and the modernisation of the Dutch education system. He wrote many articles and books about education.

Biography

Jan Ligthart was born on 11 January 1859 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, in the

Jordaan The Jordaan () is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the Boroughs of Amsterdam, borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the ...

district. His father Cornelis Ligthart, was a carpenter and grocer, who suffered from

epileptic seizures A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

. His mother Anna van Spall, daughter of a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

, came from Klundert. Both of his parents died during his childhood. Ligthart graduated from the Reformed Christian college of Bloemgracht. Afterwards he worked in several schools as a teacher. In 1886, he married Marie Cachet, with whom he had three children, two daughters and one son. Due to his illnesses he was put in a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

. On 16 February 1916 he died after falling in a canal and drowning.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ligthart, Jan 1859 births 1916 deaths Dutch educators Writers from Amsterdam Accidental deaths in the Netherlands Deaths by drowning