Prof.dr. Ad van der Woude
Professor and Chair 1975-1999
After his studies at the University of Utrecht in 1960, Van der Woude joined the Department (now chair group) Agricultural History at the then Agricultural University Wageningen, where he worked under Bernard Slicher of Bath. He specialized in historical demography and his finished his PhD dissertation "Het Noorderkwartier". After Slicher van Bath retired, Van der Woude became professor and chair in 1975 until 2000. He was succeeded in 2000 by Pim Kooij.
Prof dr. Ad van der Woude's important contribution to the field was the book "The First Economy", published in Dutch in 1995 under the title "Nederland 1500-1815". This book, which he co-wrote with Jan de Vries, demonstrates the direction that Van der Woude chose in the history of the long economic history lines. He is thus, like his predecessor Slicher of Bath, to be regarded as a follower of the school formed by the journal Annales.
Van der Woude was also co-founder of the training for PhD students in economic and social history of the N.W. Posthumus Institute and chairman of the examination committee of this training. He was a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion.