Anne Antoinette (Anna) Weber-van Bosse; * 27 Maart 1852, Amsterdam; + 29 Okt 1942, Brummen
Anna van Bosse was a pioneering marine biologist primarily interested in algae. She made many contributions to phycology (the study of algae).
Anna grew up in a well-to-do Amsterdam-based family and received her elementary and high school education at home, where she was taught by a Swiss governess. Because she frequently visited Artis, Amsterdam’s zoo, she became interested in biology.
On 5 October 1871, she married industrialist, amateur painter, and patron of the arts Wilhelm Ferdinand Willink van Collen (1847-1878). After his untimely death, Anna attended classes in biology at the University of Amsterdam. At that time, the presence of women at the university was highly unusual and at times provoked unpleasant reactions by male students. Anna studied with Professor Hugo de Vries, one of the re-discoverers of Mendel’s genetics.
On 27 March 1883, Anna married Max Wilhelm Carl Weber, who later that year became professor of zoology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1886, her first scientific publication appeared. A year later she won a gold medal of the Dutch Association of Science for her study of a type of algae found in the coat of sloths, after investigating the sloths at Artis.
In 1888, Anna and Max travel to the Dutch East Indies for the first time, on the invitation of Melchior Treub, the director of the famous botanical garden near Bogor. They investigate the flora and fauna of Java, Flores, and Sulawesi. In 1894, they visit South Africa. Their most important expedition took place in 1899-1900 on board of the Siboga, which criss-crossed the waters of the Dutch East Indies for a year. One of the results is the Weber-line, which runs mostly parallel to the Wallace line; it demarcates different types of flora and fauna in the East and West of the archipelago. Anna’s account of this expedition appeared as Een jaar aan boord van de H.M. Siboga [A year on the Siboga]. Upon their return to the Netherlands, Anna and Max spend several years on the estate Eerbeek to publish the results of this expedition.
Anna never enrolled at a Dutch University because she lacked the required high school diploma. Despite that, her scientific work became well-known around the work. Her publications on algae, many of which still carry her name, are still considered standard works. In appreciation of her scientific contributions, she received an honorary doctorate at the University of Utrecht in 1910—the first honorary doctorate awarded to a woman in the Netherlands. In 1909 she received a royal distinction as Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau; in 1934 she was promoted to officer in the same order.
Sources
Anne Antoinette Weber-van Bosse, Een Jaar Aan Boord Van De H.M. Siboga. Leiden: Brill, 1904.
Andrea Kieskamp, “Anna Weber-Van Bosse (1852-1942): Mijn Kinderen, De Algen, Een Biologe in De Indische Archipel.” In Het Is Geen Kolonie, Het Is Een Wereld: Vrouwen Bereizen En Beschrijven Indië, 1852-1912, 59-83. Amsterdam: Terra Incognita, 2003.
Anne Weber-van Bosse, in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.
Anne Weber-van Bosse, second entry in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.
Max Wilhelm Carl Weber, in: Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.
indomusings 