Jesse hailed from a Leiden family and was the son of a pharmacist in Zaltbommel. Along with his two brothers and one sister, he attended the three-year HBS from 1874 to 1877. With the ambition of becoming an architect, he moved to his grandmother’s home in Leiden to explore more opportunities. Under the tutelage of carpenter/architect W. Kok and evening classes at Mathesis Scientiarum Genitrix, a technical school, he furthered his knowledge. After three years, he joined famous architect Gerlof Salm in Amsterdam as a junior draughtsman.
In 1882, Jesse began his studies at the Delft Polytechnic School where he was taught by E.H. Gugel, Adolf le Comte, and J.A. van der Kloes. His architectural career commenced in 1884 with the construction of the Nieuwe Kerk in Katwijk at the young age of 24. In 1890, he married Anna Adriana Meerburg, daughter of a shipowner, and they had two children: Jan Jesse, born in 1891, and Hendrik Johannes Jesse, born in 1905. Their youngest son, Henk Jesse, was the first Dutchman to make a radio connection with the United States at the age of 18 in 1923. He accomplished this feat from the family home, De Keet, which the architect designed and where he lived from 1906 until his death on February 11th, 1943.
www.ftn-bowww.ftn-books.comoks.com has the Nai publication on Jesse now available.
