Simon Stevin, homo universalis

Simon Stevin was born in Bruges in 1548. He was the son of Anthonis Stevin and Cathelyne van der Poort. He hailed from a prominent family of mayors, aldermen, magistrates and merchants. Stevin was proud of his heritage. He often showed off his birthplace on the title pages of his books.

Stevin's professional start is a modest one. He first worked as an accountant in Antwerp and as an employee of the tax department in Bruges.

These were turbulent times in the Southern Netherlands. Religious strife was flaring up everywhere. In 1577, tensions between Catholics and Calvinists reached a boiling point. Stevin moved to the North.

From 1581, he lived in Leiden. He studied at the university there. He met the stadtholder and commander of the armed forces Maurice of Orange. The printer-publisher Christophe Plantin also crossed his path. From then on, both men played a major role in the life of Simon Stevin.

In 1593, Stevin became the private teacher of Prince Maurice. He taught him geography, astronomy, geometry, the art of weighing, perspective, accounting and economics. These teachings were later compiled in the volume Wisconstige gedachtenissen (1608).

In 1603, Prince Maurice appointed Stevin as quartermaster of the army of the Seven United Provinces. Stevin built army camps and took care of provisioning.

War is an expensive business. Stevin convinces Prince Maurice to introduce double-entry bookkeeping for the army. The mismanagement of local stewards becomes a much smaller issue.

Plantin also had a printing company in Leiden. There he printed works for the university. Of the fifteen works Stevin published, eight were printed by Plantin.

Trade in the Netherlands was flourishing in the sixteenth century. Cities - including Antwerp - were meeting grounds for international traders.

Each region in Europe had its own sizes, weights and coins, which made interregional trade exceedingly difficult.

Did you know De Thiende by Stevin forms the basis for the American dollar?

In 1792, the United States of America adopted the dollar as its national currency. Its later president Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) advocates a decimal system basis for the new currency. In his argument, he appeals to Stevin's De thiende. That is why one dollar consists of 100 cents. It makes the dollar the first modern currency.

Wisconstige Gedachtenissen (Mathematics), 1586

Wisconstige Gedachtenissen (1586) is one of Stevin's most influential works. It is composed of portions of Beginselen der weegconst (The principles of weighing), De weeghdaet (Dynamics) and De Beghinselen des Waterwichts (The principles of hydrodynamics).

Browse the book online

De Weeghdaet (Dynamics), 1586

In de Weeghdaet, Stevin also does limited research into the theory of dynamics. Together with Johan Cornets de Groot (1554-1640), he performed the classic drop test in which they dropped two lead balls from a church tower. Although one is 10 times heavier than the other, they fall to the ground in identical times.

Beghinselen des Waterwichts (Principles of hydrodynamics), 1586

In this book, Stevin discusses hydrostatic properties, the theory of liquids in a balanced state. Stevin was the first to build on Archimedes' law. This law says that the buoyancy acting on an immersed object is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid mass. Stevin is the first since Archimedes to introduce additional insights into hydrostatics.

De Sterctenbouwing (Reinforced Constructions) , 1594
During the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) the need to reinforce cities grew. At the request of Prince Maurice, Stevin improved all kinds of fortifications.
Moers in Germany was built according to Stevin's theories.

Together with Johan Cornets de Groot, he constructed a water mill for the Dutch city of Ijsselstein. It was delivered late and did not meet expectations, which led to a court case. Stevin proves that his designs were performing well elsewhere and wins the case.