Famous Dutch Engineers

A pioneering computer scientist from the Netherlands, Edsger W. Dijkstra had initially studied theoretical physics, before focusing on computers. He developed the domain of structured programming and also won honors such as the Turing Award. He died at 72, after a long struggle with cancer.

Dutch soldier Menno van Coehoorn served the forces of William III, prince of Orange. Known for his book on siege strategies, he had written the widely translated volume New Fortress Construction in a Flat or Low Terrain. A skilled military engineer, too, he built a number of forts for several Dutch cities.

Cornelius Vermuyden was a Dutch-born British engineer who used Dutch land reclamation methods to drain Hatfield Chase in Lincolnshire. He was knighted for his work and went on to oversee projects to drain The Fens in East Anglia in the 1650s. Many places in the United Kingdom, including the Cornelius Vermuyden School, have been named in his honor.

Dutch engineer-statesman Cornelis Lely is best remembered for his Zuiderzee reclamation project and passed an act authorizing it. A Liberal Union politician, he served his country as its minister of water management. He had also been the governor of the Dutch colony Surinam, where he authorized the Lawa Railway.

After obtaining his electrical engineering degree, Bernard D. H. Tellegen joined the Philips NatLab, where he co-invented the pentode vacuum tube, which was used widely in radios and amplifiers. He also invented the gyrator and taught at TU Delft. He was awarded the IEEE Edison Medal for his achievements.

Dutch engineer and businessman Johannes van Damme was arrested at the Singapore Changi Airport, convicted of drug trafficking and was given capital punishment after 4.32 kilograms (9.5 lb) of heroin was found in a secret compartment of his trunk. This made him the first European who was executed in Singapore following its independence.