Olfert Dapper (c. 1635 – 1689) Dutch physician and writer.

He wrote books about world history and geography, although he never travelled outside the Netherlands. Even today, his book Description of Africa (1668) is a key text for Africanists.

Olfert Dapper was born in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. In January 1636, he was baptized in the Lutheran church in Amsterdam. In 1658, he registered at the University of Utrecht. After two years, he was signing himself as doctor medicinæ, but there is no evidence that he studied medicine.

He wrote a book on the history of Amsterdam. Later he also wrote about Africa, China, India, Persia, Georgia, and Arabia, although he had not visited these exotic destinations himself. In fact, he never travelled outside Holland. His books became well known in his own time. Translations appeared in English, French, and German.

Source: Wikipedia