Prof. Nicolaus Wilhelm Schröder (1721–1798)

Also professor of Eastern languages and Greek. It took three years to appoint a new librarian after Offerhaus’s death in 1779: Nicolaus Wilhelm Schröder. Fortunately, the Province of Groningen kept paying its annual contribution during these three years. The library’s financial situation remained precarious, however, because the number of academic publications increased significantly over the latter half of the 18th century. No portrait of Nicolaus Wilhelm Schröder is known to exist. Therefore, it is impossible to say whether his nickname ‘the Arab’ was based on his appearance.