MOLL, G., Redevoering over Jan Hendrik van Swinden, uitgesproken in de vierde openbare vergadering der eerste klasse van het Koninklijk-Nederlandsche Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten, gehouden den 26 augustus 1823

l Jan Hendrik van Swinden [Jean Henri van Swinden 1746-1823] was a Dutch mathematician and physicist who taught in Franeker and Amsterdam. He published on earth’s magnetic field and the relationship between magnetism and electricity. In 1785 he moved to Amsterdam where he became professor at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. There he was instrumental in introducing a house numbering system (useful for the postal service) and in 1795 he directed the first census. In 1798 he led a commission to report on the state of the health of the inhabitants of Amsterdam, based on the results of the census. He was part of an international commission to determine the length of the meter, as a first step to introducing the metric in the Netherlands. His international good name led him to be appointed as representative during the French occupation.