Alexander Johan de Voogt → Italian. Alexander Johan de Voogt (often shortened to Alex J. de Voogt) is the most renowned mancala researcher besides Philip Townsend. De Voogt was born on May 3, 1970, in te Baarn, Netherlands. He began to study African languages at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden in 1988, then pursued Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Oceania, Hawaii (USA), and eventually graduated in 1995 with an Ph.D. in Psychology writing his dissertation about Bao mastership at Leiden University, Netherlands. Later he was coordinator and teacher in the Advanced Master's Program, School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies, Leiden University (1998–2003), then an Assistant Professor of International and Non-Profit Marketing at Leiden University (2002–2009) and an Assistant Profe