While Newton, in England, was thus enlarging the boundaries of
astronomy, and conferring upon it a degree of accuracy and system
hitherto unknown, a number of continental philosophers were
contributing materials, which, though of an humble character, were not
the less necessary to the future progress of the science. First among
these was Christian Hüygens, Lord of Zeelhem, born at the Hague on the
14th of April 1629, and descended of a rich and respected family. His
father, secretary and counselor to the Princess of Orange, and
distinguished as a scholar and poet, was not slow in observing the
genius of his son, and, full of paternal solicitude for his
improvement, became his first instructor. He early taught him music,
arithmetic, and geography――says a writer in the Encyclopædia, from
which we select the materials of this notice――and initiated him, when
about thirteen, in the knowledge of mechanics, for which the boy had
evinced a surprising aptitude. At fifteen, he received the assistance
of a master in mathematics, under whose tuition he made great
progress; and at sixteen, was sent to Leyden, to study law under the
eminent jurisconsult Vinnius. He did not, however, permit
jurisprudence to divert him from his mathematical studies, which he
now prosecuted with success as well as afterwards at Breda, at the
university of which he resided from 1646 to 1648. In these two cities
he had respectively as masters two very able geometers, Francis
Schooten and John Pell; and his first essays were so successful, that
they attracted the notice of Descartes, to whom the author, in his
admiration of that great philosopher, had communicated them. Descartes
predicted his future greatness, but did not live to appreciate his
discoveries.
On quitting the university, Hüygens, as was then the custom, made the
tour of Europe; and after his travels, settled in his native country,
where he commenced that series of inventions which have rendered his
name so justly celebrated. Between the years 1650-60, his pursuits
were chiefly mathematical, resulting in several publications of
acknowledged merit. In 1655 he traveled into France, and took the
degree of Doctor of Laws at Angers; and in 1658 made known his
invention of the pendulum clock. In the following year he published
his discoveries relative to the planet Saturn; discoveries which
inseparably associate his name with the science of astronomy. Galileo
had endeavored to explain some of the appearances exhibited by that
planet. He had at first observed two attendant stars, but some time
afterwards was surprised to find that they had disappeared. Hüygens,
desirous to account for these changes, labored with his brother
Constantine to improve the construction of telescopes; and having at
length made an instrument of this kind, possessing greater power than
any which had yet been contrived, he proceeded to observe the phases
of Saturn, and to record all the different aspects of that planet. The
results were of equal interest and importance to the science of
astronomy. He discovered a satellite of that planet which had hitherto
escaped the notice of astronomers; and after a long course of
observation, he showed that the planet is surrounded by a solid and
permanent ring, which never changes its situation. In 1660 he took a
second journey into France; and the year following he visited England,
where he communicated the art of polishing glasses for telescopes, and
was admitted a member of the Royal Society. The air-pump, then
recently invented, he materially improved; and about the same time he
also discovered the laws of the collision of elastic bodies, as did
afterwards Wallis and Wren, who disputed with him the honor of the
discovery. After a stay of some months in England, Hüygens returned to
France, where, in 1633, his merit became so conspicuous, that Colbert
resolved to bestow on him such a pension as might induce him to
establish himself at Paris. This resolution was not carried into
effect until 1665, when letters in the king’s name were written to the
Hague, where the philosopher then resided, inviting him to repair to
Paris, and offering him a considerable pension, with other advantages.
Hüygens accepted the proposal; and from 1666 to 1681, settled at
Paris, where he was admitted a member of the Royal Academy.
During this period he was chiefly engaged in mathematical pursuits: he
wrote and published several works, which were favorably received; and
he invented and improved some useful instruments and machines. By
continued application, his health began to be impaired, and he at
length found it necessary to return to his native country――a step
somewhat accelerated by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which
rendered him liable to molestations, although assured of the fullest
privilege to follow his own religious opinions. He accordingly left
the French metropolis in 1681; passed the remainder of his days in his
own country, and in the pursuit of his favorite subjects; and died at
the Hague on the 8th of June 1683, in the sixty-seventh year of his
age. ‘This illustrious man,’ continues our authority, ‘gave his whole
time to science; he loved a quiet studious life, and found sufficient
enjoyment in pursuing curious and useful researches. He was modest,
amiable, cheerful, and in all respects as estimable in private life as
he was eminent in science. It is not a little singular that the
discovery of the real nature, or at least of the true figure, of the
luminous ring which encompasses the planet Saturn, should have been
made by the same individual who invented the pendulum clock and the
micrometer.’ His inventions, however, were more of a mathematical and
mechanical than of an astronomical character; and we safely predict,
that had Hüygens lived in the present day, he would have risen to
superlative fame as a mechanician and engineer.