Petronella Johanna de Timmerman (31 January 1723, in Middelburg – 2 May 1786, in Utrecht) was a Dutch poet and scientist.
Her first publication, a poem about astronomy, was published in 1746, three years before she married Abraham Haverkamp.[1]
After Abraham's death in 1758,[2] she remarried in 1769 to Johann Friedrich Hennert, professor of mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.[3] During her second marriage, she conducted scientific experiments and studied physics with her spouse. She was inducted as an honorary member of the academy ‘Kunstliefde Spaart Geen Vlijt’ in 1774.[1] She presented the academy with poems, translated French plays and planned to write a book about physics for women.
She suffered a stroke in 1776 and wrote no more poetry.[2] Her widower wrote a biography about her and published her poems.[4]
Petronella Johanna de Timmerman's childhood took place in Middelburg. Petronella Johanna was born on January 31, 1723. Her parents were married on April 22, 1722.
Poet and physicist. Daughter of Pieter de Timmerman (1698–1753), merchant and director of the Commercie-Compagnie, and Susanna van Oordt (1697–1750). Petronella de Timmerman married in September 1749 in Middelburg with Abraham Haverkamp (died 1758), lawyer; (2) on 3-8-1769 in Utrecht with Johann Friedrich Hennert (1733–1813), professor of mathematics, astronomy and philosophy. Both marriages remained childless.
In 1774, the Hague poetry society 'Kunstliefde Spaart Geen Vlijt' (KSGV) asked Petronella de Timmerman to join as an honorary member. She wrote back that she had long since stopped writing poetry and focused mainly on 'sciences of a completely different nature'. In those years, she said, she studied the works of entomologists such as Jan Swammerdam and Charles Bonnet. According to Hennert, she also read the writings of philosophers such as Leibnitz, Wolff and Mendelsohn and of the physicists Musschenbroek and Nollet. She had the plan to write a book on physics, philosophy and astronomy that was accessible to women, following the example of the Lettres à une princesse d'Allemagne sur divers sujets de physique et de philosophie (1770) by Leonhard Euler. In addition, she devoted her time to what she called her compulsory activities, by which she undoubtedly meant the household that, as Hennert would later write, she conducted with almost mathematical precision. Nevertheless, De Timmerman accepted the society's invitation. She suggested to the board that she translate Molière's play, Tartuffe, into Dutch in poetry. She did, but it was never published. In 1775 she submitted the poem 'Hercreatie eener Rups', which was checked by some board members as usual. De Timmerman responded to their comments with an extensive letter: she did not agree with all the criticism and did not want to adopt all the proposed changes. The poem appeared in the third part of the Trials of poetic mixtures (1775) by KSGV.
In 1776 De Timmerman suffered a stroke. This led to aphasia, or as Hennert put it: 'the memory of words was hurt'. We find proof of this in the KSGV minutes of that year, in which mention is made of a thank-you note (which, by the way, has not been found), not as usual from herself, but from Hennert. The Carpenter was never the same again. No poems by her are known after 1776. However, she remained a member of KSGV, as can be seen from the minutes of the society. Ten years later, Petronella Johanna de Timmerman suffered another stroke. She died on 2 May 1786.
Petronella Johanna de Timmerman has gone down in history mainly as a poet. Thanks to Johann Hennert, the majority of her poems – most of which date from before 1757 – were collected after her death. However, it is questionable whether Petronella de Timmerman has always seen herself as a poet. According to Hennert, she wrote poetry more 'to satisfy her friends than her inclination'. However, poems such as the one about the caterpillar and the tail star do show her scientific interest. De Timmerman's own statement to KSGV that she actually no longer wrote poetry and was involved in completely different 'sciences' also indicates that she did not consider poetry to be her main occupation. From her first stroke in 1776, however, she was no longer able to shape her work.
