Christiaan Huygens's Life And Accomplishments

Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch scientist born on April 14th, 1629 at The Hague in the Netherlands, where he also died on July 8, 1695 at the age of 66. Christiaan Huygens had a very easy life in which the only real struggles he faced were periodic sessions of illness in varying degrees of seriousness throughout his life. He later succumbed to one of his more severe illnesses. He was born into a wealthy and notable family. His father, Constantin Huygens, was secretary to the princes of Orange. His father was good friends with Galileo Galilei and Rene Descartes, two incredibly important scientists and philosophers in this period of tremendous scientific knowledge expansion. Huygens was educated by his father at home until he was sixteen

He studied the classical and modern methods of mathematics of Descartes. Throughout this time, his father drew French mathematician Marin Mersenne’s attention to Christiaan’s study on falling objects which opened up a direct communication between Christian and Mersenne. From 1647 to 1649, Christiaan studied law and mathematics at the newly founded College of Orange at Breda. After his studies, it would have been normal for a man born into a wealthy family with a good education to pursue a career in diplomacy. Due to the death of William II, the opportunity for pursuing work in diplomacy was no longer available to Christiann Huygens. However, his interest in mathematics and the sciences was significant and he had no desire to be involved with such diplomacy issues. He resided at home in his father’s house until 1666. His father believed in his abilities so strongly that he supplied his son with a financial allowance that allowed him to solely dedicate himself to his research. He travelled to London and Paris during this time, where he made many significant personal contacts within the scientific and mathematical communities. The years from 1650-1666 were the most productive and important years of Huygens’