This homepage is maintained by
Prof. dr P.C. van der Kruit,
Jacobus C. Kapteyn Distinguished Professor of Astronomy
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute,
P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, the Netherlands
Tel: +31 50 363 4062 / 4073 ;
Fax:+31 50 363 6100
E-mail: vdkruit@astro.rug.nl
WWW: www.astro.rug.nl/~vdkruit

Kapteyn genealogies
Kapteyn short biographies
Henriette Hertzsprung-Kapteyn's biography
Kapteyn obituaries
Publications about Kapteyn
Kapteyn Legacy Symposium
Kapteyn publications
Kapteyn Institute

Kapteyn genealogies

The following genealogies, in which Jacobus C. Kapteyn appears, are available on the Web:
Genealogie Online
Descendants of William Kalshoven
Middel.org
The Mathematics Genealogy Project
The academic genealogy of P.C. van der Kruit
Short biography of Gerrit Jacobus Kapteyn (1812-1879), J.C. Kapteyn's father (in Dutch).
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Kapteyn short biographies

In Wikipedia in Dutch and in English (and his painting)
In Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland by A. Blaauw (in Dutch).
On the Website of the University of Groningen.
On the Notable Names Database (NNDB) tracker.
The site of the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

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Henriette Hertzsprung-Kapteyn's biography

In 1928 H. Hertzsprung--Kapteyn, daughter of J.C. Kapteyn, wrote a biography of her father, entitled J.C. KAPTEYN: ZIJN LEVEN EN WERKEN, and published it with publisher P. Noordhoff in Groningen. The book is now part of the ``Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren'' (Digital Library of Dutch Literature), where a complete electronic version of the book is available with versions in .jpg and .txt.
This biography of Kapteyn has been translated by E. Robert Paul, first as a contribution to the journal Space Science Reviews , vol. 64, pp.1-92, 1993 (with a preface and introduction on pp. x-xix), later as a book The Life and Works of J.C. Kapteyn by Henriette Hertzsprung--Kapteyn: An Annotated Translation with Preface and Introduction by Kluwer (104 pp., ISBN 978-07-923-2603-8, 1993).
This translation has been criticized by Klaas van Berkel and Piet van der Kruit in an Appendix in the proceedings The Legacy of J.C. Kapteyn: Studies on Kapteyn and the Development of Modern Astronomy, edited by P.C. van der Kruit and K. van Berkel (see below).
In preparation of a possibe biography of Kapteyn that I am considering to write I edited a new English version of Henriette Hertzsprung-Kapteyn's book (also prepared for booklet printing).
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Kapteyn obituaries

Pieter J. van Rhijn in: Popular Astronomy, Vol. 30, 628-632 (1922)
Arthur S. Eddington in: The Observatory, Vol. 45, p. 261-265 (1922)
Adriaan van Maanen in: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 56, 145-153 (1922)
Frederick H. Seares in: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 34, 233-253 (1922)
Sir James Jeans in: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 83, 250-255 (1923)
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Publications about Kapteyn

Address delivered by the President, Dr. J. W. L. Glaisher, on presenting the Gold Medal to Professor J. C. Kapteyn, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.62, 334-343 (1902)
Kapteyn's contributions to our knowledge of the stars, by J.D. Galloway, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 14, 97-102 (1902)
Address of the Retiring President of the Society in Awarding the Bruce Medal to Professor J.C. Kapteyn, by H.D. Curtis, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 25, 15-27 (1913)
Address of H.D. Curtis in awarding the Bruce Medal to J.C. Kapteyn, by Arthur E. St.Clair, Publication of the Pomona College Astronomical Society, Vol. 2, 91-92 (1913)
J.C. Kapteyn en zijn astronomisch werk, by A. Pannekoek, Wetenschappelijke Bladen Vol. I, 257-295 (1923)
J.C. Kapteyn Centennial, by P.J. van Rhijn, Sky and Telescope, Vol. 10, 55-57 (1951)
Kapteyn en de studie van de hoogere deelen des hemels, by Elly Dekker, Zenit, Vol. 5, 448-453 (1978)
Kapteyn and the early twentieth-century universe, by E.R. Paul, Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 50, 155-182 (1986)
Kapteyn and statistical astronomy, by E.R. Paul, IAU Symposium 106 (The Milky Way Galaxy), 25-42 (1985)
The death of a research programme - Kapteyn and the Dutch astronomical community, by E.R. Paul, Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 12, 77-94 (1981)
Bruce Medalist Profiles - Kapteyn, Jacobus, by J.S. Tenn, Mercury, Vol. 20, 145-153 (1991)
Jacobu$ Cornelius Kapteyn), Academische Boekengids 25, 11-12 (2001) (in Dutch). Here is an English version.
Kapteyn also features prominently in my `valedictory' lecture `It all started with Kapteyn' (here is a version for `booklet'-printing).
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Kapteyn Legacy Symposium

The Legacy of J.C. Kapteyn: Studies on Kapteyn and the Development of Modern Astronomy, edited by P.C. van der Kruit and K. van Berkel. This is the proceedings of a symposium organized at the occassion of the 385th anniversary of the University of Groningen in 1999.

Here are the title page, contents and preface .
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Kapteyn publications

The papers of Kapteyn have been listed here, using the NASA Astronomy Data Base ADS.
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Kapteyn Institute

The Kapteyn Astronomical Institute is named after the Institute's founder, Professor Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn, who lived from 1851 to 1922.
Here is a brief description of the history of the Institute.
Below a photograph of the painting of Kapteyn by Jan Veth, made in 1918 at the occassion of his 40th anniversary as professor at Groningen University. It resides in the Kapteyn Room at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute.

There is a short article about Kapteyn (Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn) in the "Academische Boekengids" (in Dutch), written by Piet van der Kruit. Here is an English version.

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