Christiaan Huygens is best known for his work in astronomy and physics, but he also did important work in mathematics. Although he advanced no new theories, Huygens made improvements to existing methods of calculation and applied them to solving problems in the natural sciences. Had he not been diverted from mathematics by astronomy and physics, he might have be one of history's greatest mathematicians. However, the modern world might be lacking the pendulum clock and the wave theory of light, Huygens' greatest accomplishments.

Born April 14, 1629, at The Hague in the Netherlands, Christiaan Huygens was the son of a family of diplomats. His grandfather, also named Christiaan, had been secretary to William the Silent and Prince Maurice, and his father, Constantjin, had been in service to Prince Frederic Henry and the House of Orange his whole life. Young Christiaan was expected to follow the family path (his brother Constantjin...