Nationality Dutch Name Burchard Volder | ||
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Alma mater University of LeidenUniversity of Utrecht Education Leiden University, Utrecht University Doctoral advisor Franciscus Sylvius, Johannes de Bruin | ||
Institutions University of Leiden | ||
Burchard de Volder (26 July 1643 – 21 March 1709) was a Dutch natural philosopher.
Born in a Mennonite family in Amsterdam, he first studied in Utrecht (1660) and from 1670 he studied philosophy at the University of Leiden under Franz (Franciscus Sylvius) de le Boë (Dubois), completing a dissertation in 1664. Thanks to the efforts of the Volder, a physics laboratory at the University of Leiden was established in 1675. He collected measuring instruments of all kinds and performed many physics demonstrations, particularly those illustrating the discoveries of Robert Boyle. This laboratory was unique for its time. He is further famous as one of Gottfried Leibniz's most important philosophical correspondents.
De Volder's work drew many foreign students. One of his most famous students was Herman Boerhaave.