Origins & Early Life

Eduard Douwes Dekker (2 March 1820 – 19 February 1887), better known by his pen name Multatuli (from Latin multa tulī, "I have suffered much"), was a Dutch writer best known for his satirical novel Max Havelaar (1860), which denounced the abuses of colonialism in the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia). He is considered one of the Netherlands' greatest authors. Eduard Douwes Dekker was born in Amsterdam, the fourth of five children of a Mennonite family: the other children were Catharina (1809–1849), Pieter Engel (1812–1861), Jan (1816–1864), and Willem (1823–1840). Their mother, Sietske Eeltjes Klein (sometimes written "Klijn"), was born on Ameland.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Multatuli's father, Engel Douwes Dekker, worked as a sea captain from the Zaan district of North Holland. Engel inherited the surnames of both his parents, Pieter Douwes and Engeltje Dekker, and Multatuli's family retained both names. Multatuli's elder brother, Jan Douwes Dekker (1816–1864), was the grandfather of Ernest Douwes Dekker, a politician of Dutch-Javanese descent. As an adolescent, Multatuli attended school in Amsterdam, at the Latin school located at the Singel. A precursor of the present day Barlaeus...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Alexander Cartwright — Contemporary (Born in 1820) (1820): Founding member of the Knickerbockers and developer of early baseball rules.
• Alexander Mackenzie (explorer) — Contemporary (Died in 1820) (1820): Scottish explorer and fur trader famed for crossing North America north of Mexico.
• Benjamin Henry Latrobe — Contemporary (Died in 1820) (1820): Pioneering American Neoclassical Architect, known for the U.S. Capitol.
• Alexander Archipenko — Contemporary (Born in 1887) (1887): Ukrainian-American avant-garde sculptor, pioneer of Cubist human figures.
• Alexander Borodin — Contemporary (Died in 1887) (1887): Russian Romantic composer, chemist, and physician known for 'Prince Igor' and symphonies.
• Alvin Hansen — Contemporary (Born in 1887) (1887): Influential American economist, known as "the American Keynes" for popularizing Keynesian theory.
• Andrei Linde — Shared historical date (03-02 · Born) (1948): Pioneering theoretical physicist known for inflationary cosmology and the multiverse concept.
• Bedřich Smetana — Shared historical date (03-02 · Born) (1824): Father of Czech Music, known for Má vlast and The Bartered Bride.
• Amy Tan — Shared historical date (02-19 · Born) (1952): Acclaimed American novelist celebrated for exploring Chinese-American family dynamics.
• André Gide — Shared historical date (02-19 · Died) (1951): Pioneering French author, Nobel laureate known for exploring selfhood and transgression.
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