Leiden University Student Repository

Lagarde, Louise (2023)

The Many Faces of Hendrik Antoon Lorentz: How persona is manifested in media during life and in the memory of Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853-1928).

Master thesis | History (MA)

The Dutch scientist and Nobel Prize winner Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (1853-1928) was thrust into the media spotlight at the beginning of the twentieth century for which he was not quite ready. The aim of this thesis is to find out how the media took a scientific public like Lorentz and constructed a public persona for him, what virtues and abilities were associated with this persona, and how this persona changed as a result of new social developments. Furthermore, this thesis will also describe the rise and fall of personas after his death and in his legacy, up to and including how Lorentz is represented in museums today.

Persona

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz

history of science

Rijksmuseum Boerhaave

Author

Lagarde, Louise

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Politics, Culture and National Identities, 1789 to the Present

Supervisors

Hagen, S.L. ten

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en