Korteweg received his schooling there, studying at a special academy which prepared students for a military career.

However, he decided against a military career and, making the first of his changes of direction, he began his studies at the Polytechnical School of Delft.

While there he published a notable paper in Philosophical Magazine titled "On the Change of Form of Long Waves .

[6] Some of his famous students were Gustav de Vries, Gerrit Mannoury and Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer.

[5] An experiment conducted aboard the International Space Station in 2003 (Miscible Fluids in Microgravity) was mounted to prove one of Korteweg's theories.