Burchard de Volder

Burchard de Volder was a Dutch physicist.

Biography

He was born in a Mennonite family in Amsterdam. He earned an M.A. in philosophy at the University of Utrecht under in 1660. He earned his medical doctorate from the University of Leiden under Franciscus Sylvius in 1664. He became professor of physics at Leiden University in 1670. 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.