Willem Mauritius van Eldik was born in Bendosari Village, Ngantru District,
Tulungagung. Van Eldik was the child of a father of Dutch (
Indo) descent who lived in Darungan hamlet, while his mother was a native from Ngantru. He also had a sibling named M.B.F. van Eldik, who is buried next to him. Besides working as a music teacher, he was also a sergeant instructor for the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) Battalion XIX, and served in Surabaya. Van Eldik gave a
violin as a gift to his student W.R. Supratman on his 17th birthday. With this violin, Supratman, who received his knowledge of musical arts from van Eldik, created the national anthem
Indonesia Raya. == Death ==