Herman Benjamins
Surinamese educator, editor and writer
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Herman Daniël Benjamins (25 February 1850 – 25 January 1933), was a Surinamese educator, editor and writer. He is best known as the founding editor of De West-Indische Gids,[1] and editor of the Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië (1914-1917).[2]
25 February 1850
De West-Indische Gids (1919)
Herman Benjamins | |
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| Born | Herman Daniël Benjamins 25 February 1850 |
| Died | 25 January 1933 (aged 82) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Occupations | educator, editor, writer |
| Notable work | Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië (1914-1917) De West-Indische Gids (1919) |
Biography
Herman Daniël Benjamins was born in Paramaribo on 25 February 1850.[1] Benjamins went to the Netherlands to study mathematics and physics at the University of Leiden. He received his doctorate on 2 July 1875, and returned to Suriname.[3]
In 1877, Benjamins was appointed as the principal of a high school. The school opened on 15 November 1877, but closed again in March 1878[3] due to lack of students.[1] On 1 June 1878, Benjamins was appointed Inspector of Education,[3] and served in this capacity until 1910.[1] In 1882, the Geneeskundige School, a non-academic medical school, was founded and Benjamins was among the first teachers.[4]
During the first nine years, he doubled the number of students and teachers in Suriname.[5] Benjamins propagated the use of Dutch over Sranan Tongo, the English-based Creole spoken throughout the colony.[6] In 1893, he was awarded as Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.[7] In 1910, he asked for retirement, and retired to the Netherlands.[8]
In 1914, Benjamins and Johannes Snelleman embarked on an encyclopaedia about the Dutch West-Indies. On 27 February 1917, the Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië was published.[9] In 2008, the Digital Library for Dutch Literature compiled the Canon of Dutch Literature, a list of 1,000 culturally important publications which includes the Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië.[10]
In 1919, Benjamins founded De West-Indische Gids, a magazine with topics about Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.[11] In 2012, the magazine was acquired by Brill Publishers and is nowadays known as New West Indian Guide.[12] In 1898, Benjamins first started to write about the border dispute between Suriname and British Guiana. He extensively used his magazine to resolve the issue.[13] Benjamins was also fascinated by Aphra Behn, and often wrote about her.[14] In the translation of Oroonoko, Benjamins added a foreword casting doubt whether Behn had actually lived in Suriname, or whether the story is fictitious.[15]
Benjamins died 25 January 1933 in The Hague at the age of 82.[1]