was a Dutch engineer and foreign advisor in Japan during the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

. He was invited to the country in 1872 and worked on hydraulic engineering

Hydraulic engineering

This article is about civil engineering. For the mechanical engineering discipline see Hydraulic machineryHydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive...

 projects on the Edo River

Edo River

thumb|The Edo River in [[Nagareyama, Chiba]] PrefectureThe is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It splits from the Tone River at the northernmost tip of Narita City, crosses through Nagareyama and Matsudo, and empties into Tokyo Bay at Ichikawa. The Edo forms the borders between Tokyo, Chiba,...

 and on port facilities at Nobiru in Sendai Bay. He designed Japan's first western-style waterway, the Asaka Canal, which reclaimed land around Lake Inawashiro

Lake Inawashiro

is the fourth-largest lake in Japan, located in the middle of Fukushima Prefecture, south of Mount Bandai. It is also known as the 'Sky Mirror Lake'. In winter swans migrate to the beaches of the lake and stay there until spring....

 in Fukushima Prefecture

Fukushima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

. A memorial bronze statue was erected to him beside the sluice gate on the River Tone

River Tone

The River Tone is a river in Somerset, England, which is about long. It rises at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall continues through Taunton and Curry and Hay Moors, which are designated as a Site of Special...

 in 1931. He also designed Japan's first western-style lock

Lock (water transport)

A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...

, the Ishii lock

Ishii lock

, begun in 1878 and completed in 1880, is a lock on the canal beside the Kitakami River in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Designed by the Dutch engineer and foreign advisor to the Meiji government Cornelis Johannes van Doorn, it is the earliest example of such a facility in the country...

 in Ishinomaki, designated an Important Cultural Property

Important Cultural Properties of Japan

The term is often shortened into just are items officially already classified as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and judged to be of particular importance to the Japanese people....

 in 2002. Returning to the Netherlands after eight years, he died in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

.