HSN: Historical Heights and Life Courses of Dutch Men, 1811-1940

A historical dataset linking conscription records with life course data for men in the Netherlands. It contains height data for 8,418 men from their first conscription examination, with 4,103 individuals also present in the broader life course release. The database was built by the Historical Sample of the Netherlands for the 'Giants of the Modern World' project.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in male height over time based on conscription records.
• Study correlations between early-life health (height) and later life outcomes based on linked life course data.
• Investigate potential biases in historical administrative data as referenced in the description.

Strengths

• Contains height data for 8,418 individuals from a specific historical source.
• Links 4,103 individuals across two distinct historical data sources (conscription and life course records).
• Project authorship and institutional provenance (Historical Sample of the Netherlands, International Institute of Social History) are clearly stated.

Limitations

• Data is exclusively male, as only men were subject to conscription.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the full linked dataset is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN), International Institute of Social History.

Collection Method

Data linkage of HSN records with Dutch conscription records.

Time Range

1811-1940

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-18 06:13:18; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Netherlands