Gustavus van Leeuwenhoek

was a Dutch assassin.
He used an air gun to contaminate his targets with the plague samples of his scientist brother, Anton van Leeuwenhoek. The victim would die in about a week unaware of the cause. This mode of assassination would be kept in secret even from the client.
In December 1648, Prince Rupert hired Gustavus van Leeuwenhoek to assassinate Oliver Cromwell during the latter's speech in the Commons. To deliver van Leeuwenhoek from Amsterdam, Prince Rupert commissioned Captain Stanislaus's Teazer. Throughout this journey everyone referred to their intended human cargo as "the package" to preserve the secrecy.
The Second Doctor and Ben Jackson managed to thwart the assassination plot without drawing anyone's attention by confronting van Leeuwenhoek directly. The Doctor was able to guess how van Leeuwenhoek was killing his targets by connecting his name with his brother. (PROSE: The Roundheads)
== Behind the scenes ==
The English pronunciation of the last name is /ˈLeɪvənhʊk/.
Category:17th century individuals
Category:Human assassins