Marinus Vertregt
Encyclopedia
Marinus Vertregt was a Dutch
astronomer
.
, Netherlands
. After elementary school
he attended the Higher Technical school there and took a course in sugar
technology.
In 1917 he departed for the Dutch East Indies
(now called Indonesia
) and was employed at several sugar factories of the Handels Vereeniging Amsterdam (H.V.A.) as a chemist
, becoming a head chemist after three years.
Afterwards he was employed in the plantations of the same company’s factories and became a director of the sugar estate of Minggiran in Java in 1935. In 1923 he married Hillegonda Hendrika van Donkelaar and in 1928 their daughter Angenita was born.
In 1943, during the Second World War, Vertregt, his wife and his daughter were put in a Japan
ese internment camp, until their liberation in 1945. During this time he was separated from his family as Japanese camps were segregated between men and women. In 1947 he returned to Indonesia to take on the job of director of the biggest sugar factory in Java, Djatiroto. In 1950 he retired on a pension and repatriated.
In 1951 he was asked by the H.V.A. to direct the founding of a sugar estate in Wonji, Ethiopia
. After a year he was forced, to his regret, to retire owing to ill-health.
From early youth Vertregt had been interested in astronomy and other sciences and soon after his repatriation he became interested in astronautics
. In 1953 he became a member of the British Interplanetary Society
(B.I.S.) and the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Ruimtevaart (Dutch Astronautical Society). In 1953 the American prof. dr. S.F. Singer released the idea of the Mouse (Minimum Orbital Unmanned Satellite Earth). Vertregt studied the design on request of the NVR. This lead in 1954 to a much improved design that was capable to circumvent the earth for a year! The new design, called Muis (Dutch for Mouse) would be using a four-step rocket and would stay in an orbit at a height of 500 km. In 1958 he was appointed Fellow of the BIS on account of several original scientific articles in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
. In 1959 his book Grondbeginselen van de Ruimtevaart appeared, followed in 1960 by an English translation: Principles of Astronautics and in 1965 by a much enlarged second edition. At the date of the first edition, this book was the first to treat the whole field of astronautics in a succinct though scientific manner. A Russian(!) edition was also issued. In 1961 he was invited to attend the First International Symposium on Analytical Astrodynamics
, which was held at the University of California
. After the symposium he held a lecture on Interplanetary Orbits for personnel of Douglas Aircraft. In 1964, after 12 years as director of the institute, he retired permanently.
In 1970 he was elected an Honorary Member of the Dutch Astronautical Society and in the same year an Honorary Member of the Bond voor Materialenkennis. He published many articles in the Journal of the B.I.S. and in the British periodical Spaceflight, as well as in Astronautica Acta and several Dutch periodicals. Furthermore he read papers for several international Astronautical Congresses.
Through his education and career, Vertregt gained an incentive to take an interest in many sciences and arts. During his study at the Technical School at Dordrecht, where he learned mathematics, chemistry, physics and mechanical and chemical engineering, he studied Greek and Latin for himself in order to get a better understanding of the special features of these civilisations. From early youth he had learned English, French and German, and later in life he added Italian and Spanish. Moreover, from youth he had an absorbing interest in history and read widely in it and the history of art. In this manner he got a broad viewpoint on a vast terrain of human endeavour. Wanting to make this accumulated knowledge useful, he described the history of the civilisation of the countries of the Mediterranean and Western Europe in his book The Threefold Way. He also designed a Martian Calendar.
Marinus Vertregt died in 1973 at Sliedrecht
, Netherlands. In 1979 a lunar crater
was named after him on request of the Dutch Astronautical Society.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
Early life
Vertregt was born in DordrechtDordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. After elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
he attended the Higher Technical school there and took a course in sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
technology.
In 1917 he departed for the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
(now called Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) and was employed at several sugar factories of the Handels Vereeniging Amsterdam (H.V.A.) as a chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
, becoming a head chemist after three years.
Afterwards he was employed in the plantations of the same company’s factories and became a director of the sugar estate of Minggiran in Java in 1935. In 1923 he married Hillegonda Hendrika van Donkelaar and in 1928 their daughter Angenita was born.
In 1943, during the Second World War, Vertregt, his wife and his daughter were put in a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese internment camp, until their liberation in 1945. During this time he was separated from his family as Japanese camps were segregated between men and women. In 1947 he returned to Indonesia to take on the job of director of the biggest sugar factory in Java, Djatiroto. In 1950 he retired on a pension and repatriated.
In 1951 he was asked by the H.V.A. to direct the founding of a sugar estate in Wonji, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. After a year he was forced, to his regret, to retire owing to ill-health.
Career in astronomy
Returning to Holland, Vertregt sought other employment and in 1952 became director of the newly founded Institute for Technical Courses, a sister organisation of the Bond voor Materialenkennis (Society for the Knowledge of Materials). Beginning with 25 pupils, the Institute flourished and after a few years it had 2,600 pupils.From early youth Vertregt had been interested in astronomy and other sciences and soon after his repatriation he became interested in astronautics
Astronautics
Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
. In 1953 he became a member of the British Interplanetary Society
British Interplanetary Society
The British Interplanetary Society founded in 1933 by Philip E. Cleator, is the oldest space advocacy organisation in the world whose aim is exclusively to support and promote astronautics and space exploration.-Structure:...
(B.I.S.) and the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Ruimtevaart (Dutch Astronautical Society). In 1953 the American prof. dr. S.F. Singer released the idea of the Mouse (Minimum Orbital Unmanned Satellite Earth). Vertregt studied the design on request of the NVR. This lead in 1954 to a much improved design that was capable to circumvent the earth for a year! The new design, called Muis (Dutch for Mouse) would be using a four-step rocket and would stay in an orbit at a height of 500 km. In 1958 he was appointed Fellow of the BIS on account of several original scientific articles in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
Journal of the British Interplanetary Society
The Journal of the British Interplanetary Society is a technical scientific journal, first published in 1934. JBIS is concerned with space science and space technology...
. In 1959 his book Grondbeginselen van de Ruimtevaart appeared, followed in 1960 by an English translation: Principles of Astronautics and in 1965 by a much enlarged second edition. At the date of the first edition, this book was the first to treat the whole field of astronautics in a succinct though scientific manner. A Russian(!) edition was also issued. In 1961 he was invited to attend the First International Symposium on Analytical Astrodynamics
Astrodynamics
Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of motion and Newton's law of universal gravitation. It...
, which was held at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. After the symposium he held a lecture on Interplanetary Orbits for personnel of Douglas Aircraft. In 1964, after 12 years as director of the institute, he retired permanently.
In 1970 he was elected an Honorary Member of the Dutch Astronautical Society and in the same year an Honorary Member of the Bond voor Materialenkennis. He published many articles in the Journal of the B.I.S. and in the British periodical Spaceflight, as well as in Astronautica Acta and several Dutch periodicals. Furthermore he read papers for several international Astronautical Congresses.
Through his education and career, Vertregt gained an incentive to take an interest in many sciences and arts. During his study at the Technical School at Dordrecht, where he learned mathematics, chemistry, physics and mechanical and chemical engineering, he studied Greek and Latin for himself in order to get a better understanding of the special features of these civilisations. From early youth he had learned English, French and German, and later in life he added Italian and Spanish. Moreover, from youth he had an absorbing interest in history and read widely in it and the history of art. In this manner he got a broad viewpoint on a vast terrain of human endeavour. Wanting to make this accumulated knowledge useful, he described the history of the civilisation of the countries of the Mediterranean and Western Europe in his book The Threefold Way. He also designed a Martian Calendar.
Marinus Vertregt died in 1973 at Sliedrecht
Sliedrecht
Sliedrecht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of ....
, Netherlands. In 1979 a lunar crater
Vertregt (crater)
Vertregt is the ancient remnant of a large lunar impact crater. It is located on the far side of the Moon, to the north of the unusual walled plain Van de Graaff...
was named after him on request of the Dutch Astronautical Society.
Sources
- Gartmann, H. (1956), "Vlucht in de ruimte", translated from German by E. Franquinet, Amsterdam/Brussel, Elsevier.