Johan Huizinga (December 7, 1872 - February 1, 1945), was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history. He became professor of history at the University of Leiden in 1915, and taught there until the University was closed under the Nazi occupation. From then until his death in 1945, he was held in detention by the Nazis. He died in De Steeg in Gelderland, near Arnhem, just a few weeks before Nazi rule ended. Huizinga was the author of many books, four of which have been translated and are available in English: In the Shadow of Tomorrow; Homo Ludens, A Study of the Play Element in Culture; Erasmus of Rotterdam and The Waning of the Middle Ages.