Emigranten » Arjen Roelofs (1754-1828)

Personal data Arjen Roelofs 


Household of Arjen Roelofs


Notes about Arjen Roelofs

Frisian mathematician, mechanic and astronomer, born March 31, 1754 in Hijum, died there May 11, 1828, son of the farmer Roelof Pieters and Neeltje Alberts, received ordinary primary education and further developed himself into what he has become. The writings left behind by his grandfather Pieter Roelofs, who was experienced in astronomy and helmsmanship, led him to mathematical exercises. When, after the death of his father, he was able to spread his wings more, he and his brothers Pieter and Albert devoted himself wholeheartedly to his favorite studies. While they threshed the grain in winter, mathematical proposals were worked out and discussed on a wooden chute. The works of la Lande, van Swinden, Musschenbroek, etc. helped them further. He mastered the art of making spectacles, binoculars and telescopes. For two years he worked on his first telescope. For the large Berlikumer telescopes (1819-1822), manufactured by Sieds Rienks and R.H. Hommema, he made the calculations. Through continued practice he finally managed to assemble all kinds of tools, such as: micrometers, quadrants, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers, anemometers, electrometers, and various astronomical instruments. He was the first to install lightning rods in Friesland. He also made many calculations of solar and lunar eclipses, which he also observed accurately. He wrote unpublished treatises on the sea dikes and the inland waters that were too high. He was in correspondence with many scholars and artists. He deserves the name 'peasant professor' in Hijum, because he formed a whole school of pupils. These include: Sieds Rienks, R.H. Hommema, K.R. Godijk, B. Gelder, J.B. Gelder et al. The government acknowledged his merits by having him on Sept 23. 1817 to be named a brother in the Order of the Ned. Lion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjen_Roelofs

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Timeline Arjen Roelofs

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Ancestors (and descendant) of Arjen Roelofs

Pyter Roelofs
1680-????
Lijsbeth Ariens

Arjen Roelofs
1754-1828


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    Sources

    1. Finkum Hijum, baptisms Dutch Reformed 1672-1812
    2. page 13

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    Historical events

    Birthday March 31, 1754

    • The temperature on March 31, 1754 was about 0.0 °C. Wind direction mainly southwest. Weather type: sneeuw hagel omtrent helder. Source: KNMI
    • Erfstadhouder Prins Willem V (Willem Batavus) (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1751 till 1795 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden)
    • Regentes Anna (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1751 till 1759 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden)
    • In the year 1754: Source: Wikipedia
      • January 28 » Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
      • May 28 » French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
      • July 3 » French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.

    Christening day April 28, 1754

    • The temperature on April 28, 1754 was about 7.0 °C. Wind direction mainly north-northeast. Weather type: omtrent helder geheel betrokken. Source: KNMI
    • Erfstadhouder Prins Willem V (Willem Batavus) (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1751 till 1795 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden)
    • Regentes Anna (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1751 till 1759 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden)
    • In the year 1754: Source: Wikipedia
      • January 28 » Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
      • May 28 » French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
      • July 3 » French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.

    Day of death May 11, 1828

    • The temperature on May 11, 1828 was about 14.0 °C. Wind direction mainly south-southwest. Weather type: half bewolkt winderig. Source: KNMI
    •  This page is only available in Dutch.
      De Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden werd in 1794-1795 door de Fransen veroverd onder leiding van bevelhebber Charles Pichegru (geholpen door de Nederlander Herman Willem Daendels); de verovering werd vergemakkelijkt door het dichtvriezen van de Waterlinie; Willem V moest op 18 januari 1795 uitwijken naar Engeland (en van daaruit in 1801 naar Duitsland); de patriotten namen de macht over van de aristocratische regenten en proclameerden de Bataafsche Republiek; op 16 mei 1795 werd het Haags Verdrag gesloten, waarmee ons land een vazalstaat werd van Frankrijk; in 3.1796 kwam er een Nationale Vergadering; in 1798 pleegde Daendels een staatsgreep, die de unitarissen aan de macht bracht; er kwam een nieuwe grondwet, die een Vertegenwoordigend Lichaam (met een Eerste en Tweede Kamer) instelde en als regering een Directoire; in 1799 sloeg Daendels bij Castricum een Brits-Russische invasie af; in 1801 kwam er een nieuwe grondwet; bij de Vrede van Amiens (1802) kreeg ons land van Engeland zijn koloniën terug (behalve Ceylon); na de grondwetswijziging van 1805 kwam er een raadpensionaris als eenhoofdig gezag, namelijk Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (van 31 oktober 1761 tot 25 maart 1825).
    • In the year 1828: Source: Wikipedia
      • April 14 » Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
      • April 20 » René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter (and the first to return from) Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing.
      • October 7 » Morea expedition: The city of Patras, Greece, is liberated by the French expeditionary force.
      • November 16 » Greek War of Independence: The London Protocol entails the creation of an autonomous Greek state under Ottoman suzerainty, encompassing the Morea and the Cyclades.
      • December 1 » Argentine general Juan Lavalle makes a coup against governor Manuel Dorrego, beginning the Decembrist revolution.
      • December 19 » Nullification crisis: Vice President of the United States John C. Calhoun pens the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828.
    

    Same birth/death day

    Source: Wikipedia

    Source: Wikipedia


    About the surname Roelofs

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    When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin:
    Jim Joosten, "Emigranten", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/emigranten/I5525.php : accessed January 25, 2026), "Arjen Roelofs (1754-1828)".