caption death_date death_place birth_place birth_date notable_works image article_title name occupation alma_mater
cornelis lely in 1913 22 january 1929 the hague , netherlands amsterdam , netherlands 23 september 1854 zuiderzee works dr. c. lely.jpg cornelis lely
 cornelis lely civil engineer , governor-general of suriname delft university of technology
cornelis lely

cornelis lely -lrb- ; 23 september 1854 -- 22 january 1929 -rrb- was a dutch civil engineer and statesman .
he oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorizing construction of the zuiderzee works , a huge project -- designed to his own plans -- that turned the zuiderzee into a lake and made possible the conversion of a vast area of former seabed into dry land .
