Maurits van Hall

Maurits van Hall
Member of the Senate
In office
13 April 1896 – 18 December 1900
Preceded byJan Prins
Succeeded byJohannes Tak van Poortvliet
ConstituencyNorth Holland
Member of the Provincial Council of North Holland
In office
4 July 1883 – 12 April 1896
Personal details
BornMaurits Cornelis van Hall
(1836-01-31)31 January 1836
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died18 December 1900(1900-12-18) (aged 64)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Spouse
Debora Cremer Eindhoven
(m. 1864)
Children9
Relatives
Occupation
  • Banker
  • lawyer
  • politician

Maurits Cornelis van Hall (Dutch: [ˈmʌurɪts fɑn ˈɦɑl]; 31 January 1836 – 18 December 1900) was a Dutch lawyer, banker and politician. He was involved in founding several companies.

Early life and education

Van Hall was born on 31 January 1936 in Amsterdam into a family of regenten, as the son of lawyer Anne Maurits van Hall and Suze van Schermbeek.[1] He had a younger sister called Johanna and a younger brother called Floris.[2] His father joined the 1834 Dutch Reformed Church split, bringing him into conflict with his family and the ruling elite.[3] His father died of tuberculosis in 1838, and his mother took the children to her hometown of Utrecht. They lived on the Weerdsingel.[3][4] Van Hall's mother died in 1844, also of tuberculosis, and the children were subsequently under care of their godparents: their grandfather, Maurits, who was a lawyer, poet, and politician, and their uncle, Floris, who was a minister and chairman of the Council of Ministers.[5][6][7][8] Van Hall was raised with his siblings by his aunt in Utrecht.[3][9]

Between 1853 and 1858, he studied Roman and contemporary law in Utrecht.[1]

Business career

He became a lawyer in Amsterdam after his studies, and he mostly represented industrial, financial, and cultural enterprises from the Dutch East and West Indies.[1] When the Dutch Credit and Deposit Bank, a precursor of BNP Paribas, was established in April 1863, Van Hall was a minor participant with 50 shares of ƒ250.[10] He became its secretary, and the bank merged in 1872 to become the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. Van Hall headed its Amsterdam office, located on the Herengracht, until at least 1899.[1][6]

He held several secondary positions, such as state commissioner of the Entrepotdok starting in 1884 and heemraad of Rijnenburger Grift around 1889.[1] He joined the boards of directors of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange Association in 1876 and The Hague Tramway Company in 1887, each in its founding year.[11][12][13] Van Hall was a member of the governing board of the Bischofsheim Association and of the boards of directors of The Hague Tramway Company, the Paleis voor Volksvlijt, the Society for the Public Benefit, and the Company for the Drainage and Exploitation of the Tienhoven and Maarsseveen Lakes. He had been an investor in the latter company when it was established in 1870.[1][14][15][16] He sat on the supervisory boards of the Zeeland Steamship Company, the Wester Suikerraffinaderij, the Netherlands Bell Telephone Company, and the Dutch Mutual Fire Guarantee Company, and he was among four investors in the Dutch Insurance Company against the Risk of Mutual Guarantee.[1][17][18][19][20]

After the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg burnt down in 1890, Van Hall was part of a group that offered to establish a company that would build a new city theatre. It would have a capital of ƒ100,000 and issue ƒ900,000 in bonds.[21]

Politics

Van Hall was associated with liberalism, in contrast to his more moderate grandfather Maurits and uncle Floris.[1][6] Nominated by the association Burgerplicht, he was a member of the Amsterdam chamber of commerce between 1883 and 1890, including as vice president from 1885 onward.[1][22] He was sworn into the Provincial Council of North Holland on 4 July 1883 following his election in the Amsterdam electoral district. Van Hall secured a second term in May 1889, and he served on the council until 12 April 1896.[1][23][24]

Maurits made several attempts to get into the Senate. In May 1894, such an attempt failed, even though he got quite close.[25] Van Hall was elected to the Senate on behalf of North Holland in February 1896, and he took his seat on 13 April.[1][26] In 1899, he was re-elected.[27] He was chairperson of the petitions committee.[1] While in the Senate, Van Hall had throat cancer, and he could only breathe through a silver tube in his trachea. He never spoke on the Senate floor, despite attending all debates.[28] He died in office.[1]

Personal life

Van Hall was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church.[1] He married Debora Cremer Eindhoven (1843–1906), who originated from the north of the Netherlands, on 2 August 1864 in Zwolle.[1][6] They had nine children and lived in the Gouden Bocht in Amsterdam at Herengracht 475.[6][29] His grandchildren include politician, banker, and resistance member Gijs van Hall.[1]

Van Hall was a member of the Amsterdam schutterij, serving as second lieutenant from April 1862, as first lieutenant from November 1864, and as captain from July 1866.[30][31][32] He became a Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau in 1882 and a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 1899.[1][33]

He died in Amsterdam on 18 December 1900, aged 64, and he was buried at Westerveld cemetery.[1][34]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Mr. M.C. van Hall". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  2. ^ Mak, p. 238.
  3. ^ a b c Mak, p. 237.
  4. ^ Van Hall, p. 60.
  5. ^ Mak, pp. 237–238.
  6. ^ a b c d e Van Hall, p. 66.
  7. ^ "Mr. M.C. van Hall". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Mr. F.A. baron van Hall". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  9. ^ Van Hall, p. 63.
  10. ^ "Naamlooze Vennootschappen" [Limited liability companies]. Staatscourant (in Dutch). No. 115. 16 May 1863. pp. 7–9 – via Delpher.
  11. ^ "Binnenland" [Domestic]. Het Vaderland (in Dutch). Vol. 8, no. 160. 10 July 1876. p. 5 – via Delpher.
  12. ^ "The Vereniging voor de Effectenhandel". Exchange History NL. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Naamlooze Vennootschappen" [Limited liability companies]. Staatscourant. No. 136. 13 June 1887. pp. 9–11 – via Delpher.
  14. ^ "Vervolg der Nieuwstijdingen" [Continuation of news items]. Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). No. 11021. 1 May 1867. p. 5 – via Delpher.
  15. ^ "De Bischoffsheims-vereeniging" [The Bischoffsheims Association]. Algemeen Dagblad van Nederland (in Dutch). No. 298. 20 June 1870. p. 1 – via Delpher.
  16. ^ "Vereenigingen en naamlooze vennootschappen" [Associations and limited liability companies]. Staatscourant (in Dutch). 14 January 1871. pp. 6–7 – via Delpher.
  17. ^ "Naamlooze Vennooschappen" [Limited liability companies]. Staatscourant (in Dutch). No. 95. 22 April 1882. p. 11 – via Delpher.
  18. ^ "Naamlooze Vennootschappen" [Limited liability companies]. Staatscourant (in Dutch). No. 10. 13 January 1881. p. 9 – via Delpher.
  19. ^ "Advertentien" [Advertisements]. Twentsche Courant (in Dutch). No. 11. 16 March 1867. p. 3 – via Delpher.
  20. ^ "Naamlooze Vennootschappen" [Limited liability companies]. Staatscourant (in Dutch). No. 85. 8 April 1880. pp. 9–10 – via Delpher.
  21. ^ "Herbouw van den Stadsschouwburg" [Reconstruction of the Staddsschouwburg]. Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). No. 19115. 22 March 1890 – via Delpher.
  22. ^ Algemeen Handelsblad 10 November 1882.
  23. ^ Algemeen Handelsblad 10 May 1883.
  24. ^ Algemeen Handelsblad 16 May 1889.
  25. ^ Algemeen Handelsblad 23 May 1894.
  26. ^ Algemeen Handelsblad 19 February 1896.
  27. ^ Nederlandsche Staatscourant 12 July 1899.
  28. ^ Van Hall, p. 74.
  29. ^ Mak, p. 267.
  30. ^ "Nederlanden" [Netherlands]. Staatscourant (in Dutch). No. 105. 3 May 1862. p. 1 – via Delpher.
  31. ^ "Utrecht, Zaturdag 19 November" [Utrecht, Saturday 19 November]. Utrechtsch Provinciaal en Stedelijk Dagblad (in Dutch). No. 276. 19 November 1864. p. 1 – via Delpher.
  32. ^ "Binnenland" [Domestic]. Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (in Dutch). No. 195. 17 July 1866. p. 2 – via Delpher.
  33. ^ Algemeen Handelsblad 21 September 1882.
  34. ^ "Begrafenis van mr. M.C. van Hall" [Burial of mr. M.C. van Hall]. Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). No. 22845. 22 December 1900. p. 2 – via Delpher.

Bibliography