Hogendorp, Gijsbert Karel van |
| STATESMAN (THE NETHERLANDS) |
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BORN 27 Oct 1762, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland - DIED 5 Aug 1834, Den Haag, Zuid-Holland GRAVE LOCATION Den Haag, Zuid-Holland: Algemene Begraafplaats, Kerkhoflaan 12 (A III rij 4 nr. 4) |
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Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp was the son of Willem van Hogendorp (1735-1784), a founder of the Bataviaasch Genootschap voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen. His father was in debt and left for the Dutch East Indies to make a fortune and his wife and children remained in the Netherlands. Gijsbert was educated at the cadet school in Breda and in 1778 he joined the regiment of Frederick Henry Louis of Prussia. In 1781 he returned to the Netherlands. In 1783 he travelled to North America with the first Dutch Ambassador Pieter Johan van Berckel. He stayed at George Washington's estate but their meeting disappointed him. He fared better with Thomas Jefferson and corresponded with him afterwards. On his return journey he met the young Prime Minister William Pitt in England. In 1786 he obtained a doctorate in law at Leiden University. In 1789 he married Hester Clifford (1766-1826), who came from a wealthy family of merchants from Amsterdam. They had ten children. Because he had supported the Prince of Orange he was sidelined after the Batavian Revolution, and he moved to Amsterdam. He planned a colony at Cape of Good Hope with Sebastiaan Nederburgh (1762-1811) but the plan failed. In 1809 he moved to the Hague where he sketched a constitution for period after the French rule. After Napoleon's failed campaign in Russia, he formed a Provisional Government with Frans Adam van der Duyn van Maasdam (1771-1848) and Leopold van Limburg Stirum (1758-1840) from November to December 1813. The provisional government invited Willem Frederik van Oranje-Nassau to return to the Netherlands. He became the first Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the prince appointed him to a committee that was to draft a constitution based on his earlier sketch. It was approved on 29 March 1814. In 1815 he was ennobled. Van Hogendorp's views became more liberal over time, and he opposed the relatively despotic views of king William I. He was stripped of his title Minister of State, but he remained a member of the house of Representatives. In 1825 he stepped down for health reasons. He died in 1834 in the Hague. |
| Images |
 The grave of Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp at the Gemeentelijke Begraafplaats, Den Haag. Picture by Androom (03 Aug 2007) |
Sources • Dissel, A.J. van, De Gemeentelijke Begraafplaats aan de Kerkhoflaan te, 's Gravenhage, Gemeente 's Gravenhage, afdeling VOM, Den Haag, 1989 |
