Emilie Knappert
Emilie Knappert (1860–1952) was a Dutch social worker who founded several important social work organizations in the Netherlands, including the Leiden Volkshuis (People's House), and was the director of the Amsterdam School of Social Work from 1915 to 1926. Early life Emilie Charlotte Knappert was born in Schiedam in what is now the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area of the Netherlands on 15 June 1860. She was the daughter of Adrianus Knappert, a gin distiller who later became a bank manager, and Arnolda Antonia Knappert. She was the eldest of eight children in a liberal, upper middle-class family. From childhood, Knappert showed great interest in religious issues, following her uncle Jan Knappert, who was a minister. Studying at home, Knappert received the French secondary education certificate and then obtained a job in a girls boarding school in The Hague. In her spare time, she followed a religious education course provided by the Vrijzinnige Geloofsgemeenschap NPB (Liberal Community of Faith of the Netherlands Protestant Association). She also attended evening courses on the Hebrew language, given by a Professor Van Oort. In 1885 she moved into his house to give catechism lessons to young people from liberal Protestant backgrounds. For thirteen years she