Our museum has been named after Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738), one of the leading scientists in Europe in his day. He was an allrounder: a skilled physician, anatomist, botanist, chemist, humanist and researcher. He had a great reputation as a teacher at the University of Leiden and for a long time held three of the five chairs in its Faculty of Medicine. He was also Rector of the University of Leiden and Director of the Hortus botanicus.
