Simon Jean Antoine Lhuilier is best remembered for making mathematical advances that were key in the subsequent development of , a branch of geometry. His textbooks on geometry and algebra were staples in the curricula of many European schools in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Lhuilier was born on April 24, 1750 in Geneva, Switzerland, the fourth child of a family of goldsmiths and jewelers. Even as a young man, Lhuilier knew that mathematics would play a large role in his future; he turned down a wealthy relative's offer to leave him a fortune if he would pursue a religious career. Lhuilier was an outstanding student in secondary school, after which he began concentrating on mathematics with courses at the Calvin Academy.

Through a distinguished family connection, Lhuilier found a job in 1771 as tutor for the children of the wealthy Rilliet-Plantamour family. However, in 1773 he published an article in the...