Henrik Sillem

Who was Henrik Sillem?

Henrik Sillem was a Dutch jurist, mountaineer and sports shooter.

Henrik Sillem was the son of Johann Gottlieb Sillem, banker with Hope & Co. bankers, Amsterdam. His mother was jonkvrouwe Judith Catharina Henriette Hoeufft. Henrik Sillem studied law at the University of Amsterdam. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject of 'Het faillissement des verzekeraars', which translates into English as 'the bankruptcy of the insurance company' and was published by Roeloffzen en Hubner publishers, Amsterdam, 1891. With this thesis he received the title of Doctor of Law on May 8, 1891. On May 28, 1891 he married in Arnhem jonkvrouwe Susanna Catharina Beatrix des Tombe on May 28, 1891, Arnhem. She was the daughter of jonkheer François Joan Adriaan des Tombe and Beatrix Cruys. The couple divorced in 1897. Henrik Sillem worked in Amsterdam, Holland, as a lawyer, legal advisor and public prosecutor. Together with his friend Solko van den Bergh and the Frenchman François Monod, Sillem initiated the first 'international shooting matches' in 1897 in Lyon. These were the forerunners of the matches that were held in Paris in 1900, now considered to have been part of the Olympics. Sillem participated in these and won a bronze medal with the Dutch pistol team.