The ANWB was founded on July 1, 1883 by members of the Vélocipède clubs in The Hague and Haarlem, including Edo Johannes Bergsma and Dirk ter Haar and Everard Kol (1859-1935), descendant of the Utrechtse Bank Vlaer & Kol under the name Nederlandsche Vélocipèdisten Bond on the Maliebaan in Utrecht. The club then had 200 members. Two years later the name was changed to Algemeene Nederlandsche Wielwielers Bond, where the abbreviation A.N.W.B. comes from. Since the association was formally called 'tourist association' (1905), the letters ANWB have resonance, but no longer meaning.