[1] Born in to a devout Protestant family of humble origins, de Visser became a worker at a young age and entered politics in the same time.

In 1909 he resigned from SDAP and became a member of the Revolutionary Socialist Association (RSV) of Henriette Roland Holst which participated in the Zimmerwald Left.

[3] De Visser was involved in a few physical altercations in the House of Representatives, most notably on Prinsjesdag 1934, he and two party members were violently expelled from the joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives by the police, because they had shouted "Indies los van Holland" when the queen entered.

[4] In 1935 he was replaced by the younger Ko Beuzemaker as party chairman but was still elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Comintern.

De Visser was killed in the Allied bombardment of the SS Cap Arcona outside Lübeck, less than a week before Germany's surrender.