Person Huygens; Christiaan (1629 - 1695); natural philosopher Huygens Christiaan natural philosopher Hugens de Zulichem Christian Huyghens 1629 - 1695 Dutch Male The Hague, Netherlands, Europe 14 April 1629 16290414 The Hague, Netherlands, Europe 8 July 1695 16950708

Physics Mathematics Astronomy Optics Education: Taught by his father; University of Leyden (1645-1647); Collegium Arausiacum [College of Orange] at Breda (1647-1649); University of Angers (LLD, 1655) Career: Travelled to Denmark in group of diplomats (1649); published 'Cyclometriae' (1651); published 'De Circuli Magnitudine' (1654); discovered the first moon of Saturn (1655); published 'De Ratiociniis in Ludo Aleae' on probability (1656); discovered the shape of the rings of Saturn (1656); patented first pendulum clock (1656) and continued to build them to determine longitude at sea; published 'Systema Saturnium' (1659) regarding the rings of Saturn; published 'Horologium Oscillatorium sive de motu pendulorum' (1673) on the theory of pendulum motion; travelled to London (1661); found error in Descartes' law on impact and worked on the collision of elastic bodies (1668); worked with Académie Royale des Sciences (1666-); published his work on the wave theory of light, 'Traité de la lumiere' (1678); travelled back to England (1689); started work on one of the earliest discussions of extraterrestrial life, 'Cosmotheoros' (1698) Memberships: Académie Royale des Sciences (1665; first foreigner to become a member) Parents: Constantijn Huygens, secretary to the Princes of Orange, and Suzanna van Baerle Huygens' contributions to astronomy, physics, and mathematics are vast and remained influential over centuries. Through his pursuits, he made acquaintances and formed friendships with many eminent natural philosophers of his age, including Gottfried Leibniz (FRS 1673), Robert Boyle (FRS 1660), and Isaac Newton (FRS 1672). While Huygens' work on dynamics and light were somewhat overshadowed by Newton's contemporaneous contributions, his study of rotating bodies and the pendulum remained of lasting importance. His work on gravity, however, was never quite taken seriously by his contemporaries. Committee and panels: Mechanical Committee (1664); Astronomical and Optical Committee (1664) Original Fellow 22/06/1663 34 Frequent correspondent to European natural philosophers; Regularly reported on and produced experiments on a wide variety of topics Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DSB; Biographie Universelle Authority: Name from Hunter; altname from Bulloch's Roll References: D T Whiteside, 'The Prehistory of the Principia from 1664 to 1686' in NR 1991 vol 45 pp 11-61 H A M Snelders, 'Christiaan Huygens and Newton's Theory of Gravitation' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 209-222 J H Leopold, 'Clockmaking in Britain and the Netherlands' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 155-165 A R Hall, 'The Leeuwenhoek Lecture, 1988. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek 1632-1723' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 249-273 D S Landes, 'The Wilkins Lecture, 1988. Hand and Mind in Time Measurement: the Contributions of Art and Science' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 57-69 A R Hall, 'Chairman's Remarks' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 97-98 A E Shapiro, 'Huygens' Traite de la Lumiere and Newton's Opticks: Pursuing and Eschewing Hypotheses' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 223-247 E A Fellmann, 'The Principia and Continental Mathematicians' in NR 1988 vol 42 pp 13-34 Laurel Brodsley, Sir Charles Frank and John W Steeds, 'Prince Rupert's Drops' in NR 1986-87 vol 41 pp 1-26 A A Mills and R Hall, 'The Production of a Plane Surface. As Illustrated by Specula From Some Early Newtonian Telescopes' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 147-166 Simon Schaffer, 'Halley's Atheism and the End of the World' in NR 1977-8 vol 32 pp 17-40 Marie Boas Hall, 'The Royal Society's Role in the Diffusion of Information in the Seventeenth Century' in NR 1974-5 vol 29 pp 173-192 Albert Van Helden, 'Christopher Wren's De Corpore Saturni' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 213-229 E Faure-Fremiet, 'Les Origines de l'Academie des Sciences de Paris' in NR 1966 vol 21 pp 20-31 J E McGuire and P M Rattansi, 'Newton and the "Pipes of Pan"' in NR 1966 vol 21 pp 108-143 J A Lohne, 'Isaac Newton: the Rise of a Scientist 1661-1671' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 125-139 E N da C Andrade, 'The Birth and Early Days of the Philosophical Transactions' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 9-27 R K Bluhm, 'Henry Oldenburg, FRS (c 1615-1677)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 183-197 Angus Armitage, 'William Ball, FRS (1627-1690)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 167-172 H W Robinson, 'Gleanings from the Library - I. A Note on the Early Minutes' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 92-95 S Mandelbrote, 'From Bremen to Pall Mall. Henry Oldenburg. Shaping The Royal Society, by M B Hall' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 389-390 J S Rowlinson, 'Gases and liquids. How fluids unmix: discoveries by the school of Van der Waals and Kamerlingh Onnes, by J L Sengers' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 255-256 H Gest, 'The Discovery of Microorganisms by Robert Hooke and Antoni von Leeuwenhoek, Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 187-201 S Van Damme, 'The Dutch Galileo? The Greatness of Huygens' Science. 'Huygens The man begind the principle' by C D Andriesse translated by Sally Miedema', in NR 2006 vol 60 pp 219-220 Notes: The election date is Huygens' election date into the Society after the grant of the second charter in April 1663. All Fellows admitted in a two-month window after this charter, until 22 June 1663, are considered Original Fellows. Various possible death dates: DSB gives 08 Jul 1695, index to BR gives 08 June 1695, BR gives 08 Jul 1693, Hunter gives 1695. Huygens C, IM006097.jpg ©The Royal Society International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 RCN: 45579 RCN: 45581 RCN: 45577 RCN: 45583 RCN: 12928 RCN: 52397 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH4446 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-17118 14 Apr 1629 - 8 Jun or 8 Jul 1695 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 07/02/2022 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA8062 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 28/03/2023 RS_NET\JonathanB Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/9894043 3df30a6c-f1e7-4c2e-a590-c54e7ebbac3c