WAGENAAR, JAN

(1709–1773)

Historian. Wagenaar lived in Am sterdam at first as a timber merchant, and then from 1756 to 1760, he was editor of the Amsterdamsche Courant. In 1760, he was ap pointed first clerk in the city secretariat of Amsterdam. Wagenaar was the first Dutch historian since PieterCornelisz Hooft to write a history of his country based on research in the archives and other sources. Wagenaar’s reputation was principally based on his Vaderlandsche historie [Dutch History, 21 vols., 1749–1759]. In 1758, he was appointed historian of the city of Amsterdam and published its history in three volumes (1760–1767).

See also Historiography.