ECHOES - stories from four centuries of Groningen university

The Academy Building in Groningen looks as though it is as old as the university itself. But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is already the third Academy Building, after the previous one was destroyed by fire.‘The Fire in the Academy Building’ is the eighth and final episode of the second season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to 1906, the year in which painters failed to properly extinguish a gutter fire, and the life’s work of a professor went up in flames.**This episode was researched and written by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing: Christien Boomsma. Voice: Tom Wilcox.**Shownotes:This episode is mainly based on the source edition by F.R.F. Smit and W.R.H. Koops, De Groninger Academiebrand. 30 August, 1906 (Groningen, 2006).The Delpher online newspaper archive has countless reports on the fire.The image database at the municipality of Groningen contains photos of the situation before, after, and during the 1906 fire.Before:https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/c6de5016-4838-713a-64ed-c44569c6d631https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/31c1be3e-a7a2-b5f7-a2b1-3189c4ef8d41https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/e40848f7-22ca-42ed-e335-37faa2a7a60fhttps://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/9e922635-0ce6-3b58-52cc-b32d36c1d9eaDuring:https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/48c23a35-ca41-c2e4-1144-54d377a25f4chttps://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/51ed0622-c9c5-3179-d854-c59895eb872fAfter:https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/c8398ba0-3410-7d57-ee4f-5844c1a6e685https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/51ed0622-c9c5-3179-d854-c59895eb872f

Doing brilliant research is one thing. Recognising it is another. The young Hungarian researcher Albert Szent-Györgyi laboured for months in a Groningen basement, searching for a mysterious substance that would later turn out to be Vitamin C. But as far as his research supervisor was concerned, the work might as well have been thrown in the bin.‘The Cats of Albert Szent-Györgyi’ is the sixth episode of the second season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to 1926, the year in which the future Nobel Prize winner Szent-Györgyi left the University of Groningen, disillusioned.**This episode was researched and written by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing: Christien Boomsma. Voice: Tom Wilcox.Want to know more? Read: Jaap J. Beintema, The last month of Szent-Gyorgyi in Groningen, in: Journal of the history of biology, 41(1), 159-165Erik Dücker, Een Nobelprijs geboren in Groningen. Albert Szent-Györgyi (1893 - 1986), (Groningen 2023)Ralph W. Moss, Free Radical: Albert Szent-Gyorgyi and the Battle over Vitamin C. (1988)

Groningen was in an uproar in 1773. After years of dispute, the renowned professor Van der Marck was dismissed. He had, after all, dared to argue that the Church should submit to the state — and that was something he would have done better not to say.‘Martyr for the Truth’ is the fifth episode of the second season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to the year 1773, when the Groningen professor Frederik Adolf van der Marck angered the wrong people.**This episode was researched and written by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing: Christien Boomsma. Additional voices by Ronald Mulder and Tom Wilcox.**For this episode, use was made of:Klaas van Berkel, Universiteit van het Noorden I. Frederick Adolf van der Marck. Een achttiende eeuwsch leeraar van het natuurrecht (‘s Gravenhage 1947)In de UB is het boekje in te zien, waarin Van der Marck zelf schreef over de gebeurtenissen: F. A. van der Marck, Waaragtig verhaal van het geene omtrent het hoogleeraars ambt van Mr. Fred. Adolf van der Marck in het staats- natuur- en volkeren-regt op de hooge schoole der stad Groningen en Ommelanden van den beginne zyner aanstelling tot zyn ontslag toe, geduurende zyne veertienjaarige bediening aldaar openlyk is voorgevallen uit egte stukken en bewyzen getrouwelyk opgemaakt, kortelyk beschreeven en in 't licht gegeeven (Lingen 1775)

They were to become heroes. Brave fighters who would bleed for their country. But the Groningen student Tjalling Pieter Tresling soon discovered that war against the ‘vile looters and murderers’ in Belgium was very different from what he had imagined.‘For King and Country’ is the fourth episode of the second season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to 1831, the year in which half of all Groningen students volunteered to take part in the Ten Days’ Campaign.**Writ and research for this episode was done by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing by Christien Boomsma.Want to know more? Check out: Kossmann, E.H. e.a., De Groninger Vrijwillige Flankeurs en de Belgische opstand. (Groningen 1982)Berkel, Klaas van, Universiteit van het Noorden. Vier eeuwen academisch leven in Groningen (I). De oude universiteit 1614-1876 (Hilversum 2014)Gedenkboek der vrijwillige Flankeur-Compagnie Groninger en Franeker studenten in de jaren 1830 en 1831 en d Academie van Franeker (Groningen, 1832) Tjalling, Petrus Tresling, Krijgsliederen voor de Groningsche studenten, uitmakende eene kompagnie (Groningen, 1830)https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/verzameling/Vrijwillige-flankeur-compagnie-der-Groninger-en-Franeker-stu--8c784e0c-86a4-4710-e522-08dd08aac51b

A small hamlet in Groningen was, nearly 400 years ago, the setting of the largest sodomy trial ever held in the Netherlands. Twenty-one men were killed — all because of the lust for power of a local nobleman and the willing assistance of a Groningen professor.The Deadly Advice of Arnoldus Rotgers is the third episode of the third season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to 1731 — the year in which twenty-one men and boys were burned at the stake for alleged homosexual acts.** ShownotesTheo van der Meer, Sodoms zaad in Nederland. Het ontstaan van homoseksualiteit in de vroegmoderne tijd (Amsterdam 1995)D.J. Noordam, Riskante relaties. Vijf eeuwen homoseksualiteit in Nederland 1233-1733 (Hilversum 1995)L.J. Boon, ‘Dien godlosen hoop van menschen’. Vervolging van homoseksuelen in de Republiek in de jaren dertig van de achttiende eeuw (Amsterdam 1997)Een aantal pamfletten en het advies van Arnoldus Rotgers zijn digitaal te raadplegen, waaronder:Het advies van Arnoldus Rotgers aan Rudolf de MepscheKorte aenmerkingen en consideratien met de daar toe dienende justificatoire bylagen geformeert op de gehoudene crimineele proceduiren by den heere de Mepsche van Faen ten reguarde van veele personen by hem betigt, geapprehendeert gevonnist en geëxecuteert, wegens het crimen van sodomie waar van deselve naer syn voorgeven souden wesen geconvinceertKorte aanmerkingen en consideratien: Afgeperste verantwoording, dienende tot ontdecking van des onbekenden schryvers lastertaal, en justificatie der gehoudene proceduiren, omtrent vier-en-twintig gesententieerde en elf gesaiseerde personen wegens sodomy: gehouden by de geassumeerde adviseurs van 't H. Ed. Gerichte van Oosterdeel Langewold. Helsche boosheit of Grouwelyke zonde van sodomie, in haar afschouwelykheit, en welverdiende straffe uit goddelyke, en menschelyke schriften tot een spiegel voor het tegenwoordige, en toekomende geslagte opentlyk ten toon gestelt

For hundreds of years, offences involving a student or professor were tried by the university’s own court. But what happens when the rector magnificus and a student fall out?'Obscene songs' is the seventh episode of the second season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to 1617, the year Rector Cornelis Pijnacker clashed with a student who wrote obscene poems about his wife.**This episode was researched by Christien Boomsma and Klaas van Berkel. Sound and editing by Christien Boomsma. Voice is Tom Wilcox.Want to know more? Check out these articles and books (sadly, in Dutch)Paul Brood, Gerard van Krieken, Jan Spoelder, De wijde wereld van Cornelis Pijnacker (1590 - 1645) (Amsterdam, 2018)A.C.J. de Vrankrijker, Vier eeuwen Nederlandsch studentenleven (1939)Van der Ven, F. A. J. (1995). Enige opmerkingen over de academierechtspraak te Groningen: Een geval van niet-exclusieve gelding van het stellige recht. Groninger Opmerkingen en Mededelingen, XII, 70-115. http://rjh.ub.rug.nl/grom

Yes, Aletta Jacobs had already been admitted to the University of Groningen in 1871. And yes, Groningen was known as a woman-friendly university. Even so, the brilliant geneticist Tine Tammes worked at that same university for decades without pay before being appointed associate professor.'She wont' be a bother to you' is the second episode of the second season of the UKrant podcast Echoes. Christien Boomsma takes you back to 1910 — the year in which Tine Tammes enrolled as a student for the final time after 21 years.Shownotes:For this episode, extensive use has been made of the unpublished biography of Tine Tammes written by Ida Stamhuis.Some literature on Tine Tammes:Ida Stamhuis, ‘Tine Tammes. Het ‘Matilda-effect’ in de wetenschap’, in: Kunst en Wetenschap 5, nr. 4 (1997), 9-10Wilde, I. de, Nieuwe deelgenoten in de wetenschap : vrouwelijke studenten en docenten aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 1871-1919. (Assen, 1998).Stamhuis, I. H.; Monsen, A. Kristine Bonnevie, ‘Tine Tammes and Elisabeth Schiemann in Early Genetics: Emerging Chances for a University Career for Women’. Journal of the history of biology 2007.

Do you think members of Vindicat atque Polit behave outrageously with “banga lists” and misconduct during winter sports trips? Four hundred years ago, students practically declared war on the university when one student refused to join their ‘nation’. It resulted in a pitched battle around the home of the rector magnificus, in which both the students and the besieged residents exchanged gunfire.This episode was researched and written by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing by Christien Boomsma.Shownotes:Want to know more? These Dutch authors have written about the 'nations'.Berkel, Klaas van, Universiteit van het Noorden: vier eeuwen academisch leven in Groningen. Part 1, De oude universiteit 1614-1876 (Hilversum 2023).Jonckbloet, W.J.A, Gedenkboek der Hoogeschool te Groningen, ter gelegenheid van haar vijfde halve eeuwfeest, op last van den Akademischen Senaat (Groningen, 1864)Vrankrijker, A.C.J. De, Vier eeuwen Nederlandsch studentenleven, (Voorburg 1939).

Mathematicians and physicists today think and calculate in much more than three dimensions. String theory - which attempts to unify the workings of all forces in nature, needs as many as eleven, to explain the workings of the smallest particlesBut in the early nineteenth century, even the fifth dimension was revolutionary. Thinking about what it would look like required a lot of thinking and calculating for Groningen mathematician Hendrik Pieter Schoute.But then he met Alicia Boole Stott. A woman from Britain who, without any formal training, made cardboard models that matched exactly what he had calculated.This episode was written and researched by Christien Boomsma. Voices by Christien Boomsma, Rob van der Wal and Giulia Fabrizi. Sound by Rob van der Wal.ShownotesWant to know more? Check it out: Irene Polo-Blanco. Alicia Boole Stott, a geometer in higher dimension. Historia Mathematica 35 March 2008, pp 123-139

In 1954, physicist and nuclear expert Hendrik Brinkman brought a promising PhD student to Groningen. At least, that's what he thought. It turned out differently: Finnish Runar Gåsström was investigated by almost every secret service from the Western world.This episode was written by Christien Boomsma and researched by Hans Wilschut. Sound by Rob van der Wal. Voice by Tom Wilcox.ShownotesWant to read more about Runar Gåsström? Check out: Hans Wilschut, The curious history of Runar Gåsström, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Natuurkunde, March 2025, pp. 22-25Groninger Archieven, inventory 2783 Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the RUG, (1875) 1957-1996, inventory numbers 616-618 Correspondence of H. Brinkman, 1954-1959

In a state-of-the-art laboratory on Westersingel, physicists Herman Haga and Cornelis Wind threw themselves into a completely new field of research from 1895 onwards: X-rays. The mysterious rays that passed through clothes and skin had only just been discovered. The pair struggled for years until they achieved their big breakthrough. But no one believed them.* The laboratory of Herman Haga and Cornelis Wind was located on Westersingel and is better known as “The Castle” on the spot where Noorderpoortcollege is now located. The X-rays Haga took are still in the possession of the University Museum.This episode was written and researched by Jan Waling Huisman of the University Museum Groningen and Christien Boomsma. Sound by Rob van der Wal. Voice by Tom Wilcox.ShownotesWant to read more about Herman Haga? Check out: Berkel, Klaas van, University of the North: four centuries of academic life in Groningen 2. The classical university 1876-1945 (2017)W.A.H. van Wylick, Röntgen and the Netherlands. Röntgen's relations to the Netherlands and the rise of Röntgenology here in the country (Utrecht 1966)Knecht-van Eekelen, A. de, J.F.M. Panhuysen, G. Rosenbusch (ed), Through the human flesh. 100 years of radio diagnostics in the Netherlands 1895-1995 (Rotterdam 1995)

Everyone knows Aletta Jacobs. Holland's first official female student in 1871. Holland's first female doctor and a fierce advocate of women's rights.But who knows Charlotte? The second student, but the first female pharmacist? Older than Aletta, but someone who later managed to evade what society expected of her? She deserves them to be more than just 'the sister of...'This episode was written and researched by Inge de Wilde and Christien Boomsma. Sound by Rob van der Wal. Voice by Tom Wilcox and Giulia Fabrizi.Want to read more about Charlotte? Check out:Mineke Bosch, An unwavering belief in justice. Aletta Jacobs 1854-1929 (Amsterdam 2005)Annette Jenowein, 'Willpower, daring and unflinching zeal. Charlotte Jacobs ( 1847-1916), first female pharmacist in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies (s.p.2019)Inge de Wilde, New associates in science. Female students and lecturers at the University of Groningen 1871-1919 (Assen 1998)Inge de Wilde, 'From the rocking chairs. Charlotte Jacobs and her circle in Batavia', in: E. Captain, M. Hellevoort and M. van der Klein (ed.), Familiar and strange. Encounters between the Netherlands, the East Indies and Indonesia (Hilversum 2000) 187-194.

Three Scottish students arrived at Groningen's academy in 1683. The three members of a strict conservative movement were persecuted in their homeland. They shared a dream: to become ministers so they could preach and baptise in Scotland.That dream became a reality for one of the three: Scotland's James Renwick was confirmed, despite loud protests from his opponents. You can still visit the spot in Groningen's Martini church, where Renwick was confirmed. Check the Martini church website for guided tours. This episode was written and researched by Klaas van Berkel and Christien Boomsma. Sound by Rob van der Wal. Voice by Tom Wilcox.ShownotesDid the confirmation of James Renwick really take place in the consistory room? Historian Klaas van Berkel thinks so, but Jan Visser, connoisseur of the Martinikerk, has doubts. After all, the consistory room is not very large and there were easily twenty people present at the ceremony. The space next to the consistory room, the old library, seems more suitable. It is much larger and since all books were removed after the Reformation, there was also plenty of room.More information on guided tours of Groningen's Martinikerk, can be found here. *In Groningen's UB, you can find ebook versions of many of James Renwick's sermons. Several biographies have been written about him. Those works mostly date from the nineteenth century and were written by admirers and followers. Not neutral, but interesting.See, for example:Thomas Houston, The Life of James Renwick, A Historical Sketch Of His Life, Labours And Martyrdom And A Vindication Of His Character And Testimony (1865). Life and Letters of James Renwick. Including the biography of Renwick by John Howie (Middelburg, 2007)

Sibrandus Stratingh became known as the inventor of the very first electric car. But the Groningen chemist and inventor was also responsible for the first ‘ordinary’ car. Because that is what you can rightly call the steam engine that drove through Groningen in 1834 with Stratingh at the driving seat. Nothing has survived of Stratingh's steam car. But the Groningen university museum does have another of his inventions on display. There is a cart weighing less than three kilos that moves by means of a battery. It comes from 1835 and is considered the very first electric car in the world. More literature can be found in the show notes.This episode was written and researched by Ulco Kooystra and Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing is done by Rob van der Wal. Voice-over is done by Tom Wilcox. *Want to know more about Stratingh? Ulco Kooystra, The Chemistry Artist. The innovative science of Groningen professor Sibrand Stratingh Ez 1785-1841 (Hilversum 2021)

In the eighteenth century, the debate about differences between white people and people of colour was in full swing. For instance, there were white scientists who believed that people of colour must have black blood, or black brains. Moreover, many of these theories were used to justify slavery.The anatomist Petrus Camper thought otherwise. During his stay in Groningen, he performed public dissections on the bodies of both white and black, to prove that there were no fundamental differences. He would have been shocked had he known that a hundred years later his ideas were being misused to spread racial theories.Camper's speech was printed in 1772 and can be read here.Petrus Camper's collection is managed by the University Museum Groningen. An exhibition on Petrus Camper is on display there until 21 September 2025. More literature can be found in the show notes.This episode was written and researched by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing is done by Rob van der Wal. Voice-over is done by Tom Wilcox.*Want to read more about Petrus Camper? Check out: Berkel, K. van, red. Petrus Camper in Context : Wetenschap, Kunst en Samenleving in de Achttiende-eeuwse Nederlandse Republiek. Verloren, 2015.van Berkel, Klaas, en Ramakers, Bart. Smaakvol en vruchtbaar gelezen worden: Petrus Camper als publiekswetenschapper. Uitgeverij Verloren, 2015, https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/5b028306-a65d-4d91-af84-c29b50a3017e.Bancel, Nicolas, e.a., redactie. The Invention of Race : Scientific and Popular Representations. Routledge, 2014, http://site.ebrary.com/id/10866340.Meijer, Miriam Claude. Ras en esthetiek in de antropologie van Petrus Camper (1722-1789). Rodopi, 1999.Schuller tot Peursum-Meijer, J., en W. R. H. Koops. Petrus Camper (1722-1789) : Onderzoeker van de Natuur. Universiteitsmuseum Groningen, 1989.Audio is coming from Envato and Pixabay

World War II marked the sudden end of the student life of hundreds of Groningen youths. Among them was Reint Dijkema: a medical student who not only became a prominent member of the Groningen resistance, but was also responsible for the liquidation of Jew hunter Jan Annes Elsinga on New Year's Eve 1943.In front of Jozef Israelsstraat 16a in Groningen lies a Stolperstein, bearing Reint Dijkema's name. His name can also be found on the memorial plaque in the Academy Building in Groningen. More literature can be found in the show notes.This episode was written and researched by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing is done by Rob van der Wal. Voice-over is done by Tom Wilcox.*Want to read more about Reint Dijkema? Check out: Jeroen Kemperman, War in the college benches. Students in resistance 1940-1945 (Amsterdam 2018)Klaas van Berkel, Academic Illusions. Groningen university in a time of crisis, occupation and recovery (Amsterdam, 2015)Ingrid van der Vlis. The story of a Groningen resistance family (Bedum, 2014). This book is largely based on the family archives of the Dijkema family.Jan A. Niemeijer, Donkere Stad (Haren, 1970)Audio is coming from Envato and Pixabay