Dirk Peter "Dick" Blok (7 January 1925 – 6 February 2019)[1] was a Dutch scholar of onomastics. He was director of the Meertens Institute between 1965 and 1986. He succeeded founding director Piet Meertens.[2] In 1979, during Blok's rule as director, the Institute was named after Meertens.[3] Blok fictionally featured in the book cycle Het Bureau by J. J. Voskuil, which was based on figures at the Meertens Institute, where Voskuil worked as well.[2]
Blok was born in Oegstgeest.[1] He studied Medieval history at the University of Amsterdam, where he obtained a degree in 1953. In 1960 he earned his doctorate cum laude at the same university under J.F. Niermeyer with a thesis titled Een diplomatisch onderzoek van de oudste particuliere oorkonden van Werden.[4] Blok had a long teaching career at the University of Amsterdam on the topic of settlement history related to the onomastics of place names, first a teaching assignment from 1967 to 1976, and subsequently as extraordinary lector (1976–1980), extraordinary professor (1980–1986) and finally as full professor from 1986 to 1990, when he took up emeritus status.[4] He died on 6 February 2019, aged 94.[5][6]
Blok was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1984.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "D.P. Blok" (in Dutch). Digital Library for Dutch Literature. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ a b Maarten Slagboom (5 October 2014). "J.J. Voskuils collega's van het Meertens Instituut over de romancyclus 'Het Bureau'" (in Dutch). Maarten Slagboom. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ Hans Bennis (October 2009). ""Het Meertens Instituut" Over de betekenis van de vorm" (PDF) (in Dutch). Meertens Institute. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Prof. dr. D.P. Blok, 1925 -" (in Dutch). University of Amsterdam. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ "Overlijdensbericht Prof.dr. D.P. (Dick) Blok". Mensenlinq.nl. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019.
- ^ Jan Berns (13 February 2019). "In memoriam D.P. (Dick) Blok, 7 januari 1925- 6 februari 2019" (in Dutch). Neerlandistiek. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019.
- ^ "Dick Blok". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.