Geyl was born in Dordrecht and graduated from the University of Leiden in 1913. His thesis was on Christofforo … See more

Geyl worked as a teacher at Stedelijk Gymnasium Schiedam (grammar school) in Schiedam (1912–1913) before going on to serve as the London correspondent for Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant newspaper… See more

In 1940, Geyl wrote an article on how historians view Napoleon. It was due to be published in June 1940, but after the German occupation in May 1940, the publishers declined to publish Geyl's article out of the f… See more

Geyl was best known as a critic of the British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, who seemed to maintain that he had discovered "laws" of history that proved how civilisations rise and fall. Geyl often debated Toynbee b… See more