Articles taken from De Colve XVI – 2011 -Cor ‘Vlieg’: Cornelis Kolff (1897-1968)

Cornelis Kolff – to most of his friends: Cor – held many important functions at Rotterdam, but also on a nationaal and international scale. Kolff was a well respected and valued person in Rotterdam. One can say that he has fulfilled his life very well.
He was a stimulating person at Tollens & Co. Paint and Varnish Factories – a 200 years old familie factory at which the Kolff family was in charge since 1845.

His private sphere of interest was in the first place the development of civil aviation. Even though he didn’t fly aircraft himself he has been very influential in civil aviation and here, too, in the interest of the city of Rotterdam, and also national and internationally.

“Aviation filled and enriched my life”, is how he explained his role being philanthropist and fore runner of civil aviation and aviation sports which he played since 1926. A role that started being chairman of the Rotterdam Aero Club and which ended in 1963 when he had to quit his chairmanship of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Vereeniging voor Luchtvaart (KNvVL – the Royal Netherlands’ Association for Aviation), a position he held since 1950, for health reasons. Two functions in which he served the interests of aviation in an excellent way, and honorary without any personal financial profit. Apart from these worth mentioning are also his chairmanship of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (1952 – 1954) and that as a member of the board of the N.V. Nationale Luchtvaartschool.

Kolff has been so predominantly active for civil aviation that most people didn’t even know his ‘ordinary’ employment: being a member of the Rotterdam Verfindustrie Tollens, apart from which he was also director in other organisations. All of his work has been awarded well, for instance he has been awarded with the Golden Generaal Snijders Medaille, the Golden medal of the KNvVL, and not in the least an honorary membership to this Association. The world of civil aviation will honour him forever as one of its leading figures.

Images of Cornelis Kolff, Cor Vlieg, can be seen at Het Geheugen van Nederland.

Text written by Ir.F.W.C. Blom, Ir. J.A.C. Tillema and A.Q. (Quit) Kolff. In part taken from ‘Rotterdams Jaarboekje 1969’, as well as ‘ jaarboekje’ of the ‘Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum’.

Quit Kolff, Rhoon, februari 2010