W. F. Gisolf

Dr Ir Willem Frederik Gisolf (Sep 4 1884, Rotterdam - Apr 6 1944, Tjimahi) was a Dutch geologist and petrographer

In 1910 he married Elisabeth Jacoba Cornelia van der Waals, a niece of Johannes Diderik van der Waals. From 1925 to 1940 he was Director of the Hogere Burger School (HBS) (Dutch secondary education) in Bandung in Indonesia. He died in a Japanese concentration camp in Tjimahi in 1944. W.F.

Gisolf dedicated his thesis ("Beschrijving van een microscopisch onderzoek van Gabbros en Amfibolieten herkomstig van Midden-Celebes") to G.A.F. Molengraaff, his close friend. W.F. Gisolf is further well known from his publication in the "Jaarboek van het Mijnwezen in N.O.I." from 1924 with the title "De meteoriet van Tjerebon". His third publication was a scientific analysis of the results of the school where he was the director, entitled "De resultaten van het onderwijs". In this study, he applied scientific methods and a statistical analytical approach to the results of his students. This allowed for practical feedback to the teachers involved, and constituted one of the first scientific studies into the educational field.

The friendship between Molengraaff and Gisolf was so close that W.F. Gisolf named his youngest son after Molengraaff (Gustaaf Adolf Frederik Gisolf). Subsequently, the name Gustaaf continued in the family (Karel Jan Gustaaf van Oosterom, Gustaaf Jan Frederik van Oosterom).