Erasmus (c.1466 - 1536) Portrait of Erasmus Desiderius, 1523 © Erasmus was a Dutch writer, scholar and humanist. The illegitimate son of a priest, Erasmus (Gerrit Gerritszoon) was probably born in 1466 in Rotterdam. He was ordained in 1492 and studied in Paris. From 1499 he adopted the life of an independent scholar, moving from city to city tutoring, lecturing and corresponding with thinkers all over Europe.