Cornelis de Gijselaar

Born in Gorinchem, De Gijselaar was educated at the Latin School in Breda and earned a doctorate in Roman and Modern Law from Leiden University in 1774.

[1] Together with Adriaan van Zeebergh and Engelbert François van Berckel, pensionaries of Haarlem and Amsterdam, he supported the Dutch Patriots faction, which sought greater autonomy for citizens and less power for the House of Orange during the time of the Dutch Republic.

[2] The patriots wore Keeshond pins to signal their allegiance, whereas the Orangists used the orange (tawny) pug as a symbol.

[3][4] After the Prussian intervention and the restoration of the Oranges in 1787, he lost his leading role and moved to Brussels, where he lived for ten years.

He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1809.