Sibrandus Stratingh became known as the inventor of the very first electric car. But the Groningen chemist and inventor was also responsible for the first ‘ordinary’ car. Because that is what you can rightly call the steam engine that drove through Groningen in 1834 with Stratingh at the driving seat.

Nothing has survived of Stratingh's steam car. But the Groningen university museum does have another of his inventions on display. There is a cart weighing less than three kilos that moves by means of a battery. It comes from 1835 and is considered the very first electric car in the world. More literature can be found in the show notes.

This episode was written and researched by Ulco Kooystra and Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing is done by Rob van der Wal. Voice-over is done by Tom Wilcox.

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Want to know more about Stratingh?

Ulco Kooystra, The Chemistry Artist. The innovative science of Groningen professor Sibrand Stratingh Ez 1785-1841 (Hilversum 2021)

In the eighteenth century, the debate about differences between white people and people of colour was in full swing. For instance, there were white scientists who believed that people of colour must have black blood, or black brains. Moreover, many of these theories were used to justify slavery.

The anatomist Petrus Camper thought otherwise. During his stay in Groningen, he performed public dissections on the bodies of both white and black, to prove that there were no fundamental differences. He would have been shocked had he known that a hundred years later his ideas were being misused to spread racial theories.

Camper's speech was printed in 1772 and can be read here.

Petrus Camper's collection is managed by the University Museum Groningen. An exhibition on Petrus Camper is on display there until 21 September 2025. More literature can be found in the show notes.

This episode was written and researched by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing is done by Rob van der Wal. Voice-over is done by Tom Wilcox.

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Want to read more about Petrus Camper? Check out:

Berkel, K. van, red. Petrus Camper in Context : Wetenschap, Kunst en Samenleving in de Achttiende-eeuwse Nederlandse Republiek. Verloren, 2015.

van Berkel, Klaas, en Ramakers, Bart. Smaakvol en vruchtbaar gelezen worden: Petrus Camper als publiekswetenschapper. Uitgeverij Verloren, 2015, https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/5b028306-a65d-4d91-af84-c29b50a3017e.

Bancel, Nicolas, e.a., redactie. The Invention of Race : Scientific and Popular Representations. Routledge, 2014, http://site.ebrary.com/id/10866340.

Meijer, Miriam Claude. Ras en esthetiek in de antropologie van Petrus Camper (1722-1789). Rodopi, 1999.

Schuller tot Peursum-Meijer, J., en W. R. H. Koops. Petrus Camper (1722-1789) : Onderzoeker van de Natuur. Universiteitsmuseum Groningen, 1989.

Audio is coming from Envato and Pixabay

World War II marked the sudden end of the student life of hundreds of Groningen youths. Among them was Reint Dijkema: a medical student who not only became a prominent member of the Groningen resistance, but was also responsible for the liquidation of Jew hunter Jan Annes Elsinga on New Year's Eve 1943.

In front of Jozef Israelsstraat 16a in Groningen lies a Stolperstein, bearing Reint Dijkema's name. His name can also be found on the memorial plaque in the Academy Building in Groningen. More literature can be found in the show notes.

This episode was written and researched by Christien Boomsma. Sound and editing is done by Rob van der Wal. Voice-over is done by Tom Wilcox.

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Want to read more about Reint Dijkema? Check out:

Jeroen Kemperman, War in the college benches. Students in resistance 1940-1945 (Amsterdam 2018)

Klaas van Berkel, Academic Illusions. Groningen university in a time of crisis, occupation and recovery (Amsterdam, 2015)

Ingrid van der Vlis. The story of a Groningen resistance family (Bedum, 2014). This book is largely based on the family archives of the Dijkema family.

Jan A. Niemeijer, Donkere Stad (Haren, 1970)

Audio is coming from Envato and Pixabay