Martin Van Marum
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Martin(us) van Marum (; 20 March 1750 – 26 December 1837) was a Dutch physician, inventor, scientist and teacher, who studied medicine and philosophy in
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
. Van Marum introduced modern chemistry in the Netherlands after the theories of
Antoine Lavoisier Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), When reduced without charcoal, it gave off an air which supported respiration and combustion in an enhanced way. He concluded that this was just a pure form of common air and that i ...
, and several scientific applications for general use. He became famous for his demonstrations with instruments, most notable the large electricity machine, to show statical electricity and chemical experiments while curator for the
Teylers Museum Teylers Museum () is an Art museum, art, Natural history museum, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the ...
. He researched on the validity of
Boyle's law Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an empirical gas laws, gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as: ...
on gases other than air. He found that ammonium gas deviated from Boyle's law with increasing pressure, and it liquified at 7 atm. With this, he was the first to liquify ammonium.


Biography


Early career

Born in Delft, Van Marum moved to
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
in 1776 "because the Haarlemmers had more taste in the sciences than anywhere else in the Netherlands"''.'' After his arrival in Haarlem he began to practise medicine, but devoted himself mainly to lecturing on physical subjects and creating instruments to demonstrate physical theory. He must have made a big impression on Haarlem society, because he became a member of the Dutch Society of Science in the same year, but was named director and curator of their cabinet of curiosities in the next year. Johannes Abraham Bierens de Haan, ''De geschiedenis van een verdwenen Haarlemsch museum van natuurlijke historie. Het Kabinet van Naturalien van de Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen 1759–1866.'' Haarlem, F. Bohn, 1941. Van Marum received at first no salary, but by scaring off the former cabinet concierge Nicolaus Linder, he was able to collect Linder's' annual salary of 100
guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...
s, and when the cabinet moved later in 1777 to new quarters in the
Grote Houtstraat The Grote Houtstraat is a shopping street in Haarlem that connects the Grote Markt, Haarlem, Grote Markt to the Houtplein in the direction of the Haarlemmerhout woods. History The street runs along one of two old parallel roads running through the ...
51, Van Marum lived there as concierge. He managed to scare off Linder by obtaining permission from the society to allow his servants to keep tips they received from cabinet visitors; a source of income that Linder had come to rely on. Then Van Marum increased this salary to 300 from 100 by adding responsibilities to his list of duties, such as a summer garden in the ''Rozenprieel'' and eliminating other expenses.


Curator of two museums

In 1779, he was entrusted with the care of the ''Second society'' left to Haarlem by Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (1702–1778), which led under his direction to the foundation of the
Teylers Museum Teylers Museum () is an Art museum, art, Natural history museum, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the ...
. The Teyler legacy was split into three societies, one for religion, one for science, and one for the arts, known as the first, second, and third societies. The caretakers had to meet in Teyler's home weekly, and each society had 5 caretakers, so all of the gentlemen involved lived in Haarlem. In 1794, Van Marum became secretary as well as director of the Dutch Society of Science. Under his management, both societies were advanced to the position of the most noted in Europe. Period travelogues mention both Museums. Besides being involved with the ''Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen'', he was an ordinary member (5 December 1776) and a corresponding member (from 25 December 1776) of the Provinciaal Utrechtsch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, a member of the Bataafsch Genootschap der Proefondervindelijke wijsbegeerte from 1784, a member of the Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen from 27 August 1782, corresponding member of the
Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
from 1783, and a member of the Assembly of Notables on 29 March 1814. In 1808 he was asked by
Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French c ...
to be a member of the committee for the formation of the Koninklijk Instituut along with Jeronimo de Bosch,
Jean Henri van Swinden Jean Henri van Swinden (8 June 1746 – 9 March 1823) was a Dutch mathematician and physicist who taught at the University of Franeker and in the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. Biography His parents were the lawyer Phillippe van Swinden ...
, and
Martinus Stuart Martinus Stuart (Rotterdam, 4 October 1765 – Amsterdam, 22 November 1826) was a Dutch pastor and historian. He was appointed by William I of the Netherlands, King William I as ''historian of the kingdom''. Life and work Stuart was born in Rot ...
. He became member of the institute the same year.


Merging societies, separate collections

Under his guidance the two societies slowly merged. His name is associated with the ''Electriseermachine'', the largest electricity demonstration machine with Leiden jars built in the 18th century and at the time a crowd pleaser for the young Teylers museum. The demonstration model is still on display, as is a smaller version in the Museum Boerhaave of
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 ...
. Van Marum's researches (especially in connection with electricity) were remarkable for their number and variety. The Teyler's Museum kept its role as a museum of scientific research (some of the periodical subscriptions he started are still running) and is a repository of important scientific demonstration models from the period. Not only items regarding electricity, but also weather stations, industrial models, steam engines, and other examples of the budding industrial revolution were collected and lovingly displayed. The collection of the Teyler's was mostly based on scientific theory, while the collection of the Dutch Society of Science was mostly based on scientific practise. The rooms in the Grote Houtstraat were filled with stuffed animals and other "naturalia", while the summer garden was a modern continuation of Linder's old
Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
hortus once located behind the original city hall quarters in the Prinsenhof. Since Linder had not known any Latin, it was easier for Van Marum to entertain foreign visitors with stories of Linnaean trivia and of course, the Haarlem story of
tulip mania Tulip mania () was a period during the Dutch Golden Age when contract prices for some bulbs of the recently introduced and fashionable tulip reached extraordinarily high levels. The major acceleration started in 1634 and then dramatically co ...
.


Teylers Museum

In 1784, when the Teylers Museum opened its new 'Oval Room', the artist Vincent Jansz van der Vinne was hired as curator of the art collection and lived in Pieter Teyler's former residence that was called the " Fundatiehuis" as concierge and caretaker of the art collection.Van kastelein tot directeur. Teylers museum in de 20ste eeuw. Stichting Vrienden van Teylers Museum (1975–2000), He left the next year because of continuous disagreements with Van Marum over art and the opening hours of the museum. Van der Vinne was an artist born into an important Haarlem artist family – he was the great-grandson of Vincent van der Vinne. The Teyler's museum replaced him with another local artist, Wybrand Hendricks, who painted the famous oval room and many other Haarlem scenes. Hendricks is largely responsible for the Teyler's collection of
Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...
prints, most notably the purchase in Rome 1790 of a print & drawing collection formerly owned by
Christina of Sweden Christina (; 18 December ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and ...
. Apparently he got along under Van Marum, but when he left in 1819 at the age of 75, the Teyler's decided to discontinue the purchase of art "for the decline in art enthusiasts in this city". During the tenure of Hendriks, Van Marum himself was busy giving public demonstrations of electricity in the Oval room, but was also collecting in this period (this is why he was so involved with the lifestyle of the concierge of the Fundatiehuis, since he was there every day). He concentrated on scientific publications for the Teyler library. He concentrated his efforts on three aspects: 1) Greek and Latin authors, among them the church fathers, 2) Works of natural history including travelogues, and 3) natural history periodicals, including all publications of the
Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
and all publications of the Dutch Society of Science, which Teyler had been a member of, but could not be on the board of, due to religious differences with the board. The criteria for purchase was always expense. If a Society member could afford to purchase it himself it was not worth adding to the collection. Any member could suggest purchases, however, which explains why the collection is filled with richly illustrated examples of contemporary publications. The most impressive of these are the large illustrated books of travellers. To view the collection, Van Marum organised ''gentleman evenings'' in Pieter Teyler's library, a tradition that still exists.


Legacy

Though the public is allowed access during the day to the museum rooms, the private rooms of Pieter Teyler in the "Fundatiehuis" are only open one day a year, on Monument Day. Because of its rich scientific tradition, many noted scholars of Physics moved to Haarlem to work at Teyler's, including
Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
winners
Pieter Zeeman Pieter Zeeman ( ; ; 25 May 1865 – 9 October 1943) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. Childhood and youth Pieter Zeeman was ...
and
Hendrik Lorentz Hendrik Antoon Lorentz ( ; ; 18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch theoretical physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He derive ...
. Of Van Marum's three categories, only the first was discontinued at the close of the 19th century. The collection of periodicals which has been expanded through exchange networks, contains uninterrupted series that are among the oldest in the world. The Teyler's museum created a new wing in 1996 to house a rotational display of Van Marum's library collection, such as the works of
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...
in combination with contemporary stuffed birds of
Naturalis Naturalis Biodiversity Center () is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021. Although its current name and organization are relatively ...
.


References

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External links


Noord-Hollandsarchief
Archives of North Holland
Teylers Museum

Dutch Society of Science
(in Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marum, Martin Van 1750 births 1837 deaths 18th-century Dutch physicians Dutch curators Directors of museums in the Netherlands 18th-century Dutch physicists 18th-century Dutch chemists Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of Teylers Tweede Genootschap Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen People from Delft Teylers Museum University of Groningen alumni 19th-century Dutch physicists Members of the Assembly of Notables (Netherlands)