Lodewijck Huygens (13 March 1631 – 1 July 1699) was a Dutch diplomat.

Life

Huyghens was the third son of the diplomat

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist C ...

and

Suzanna van Baerle Suzanna van Baerle or Susanna Huygens (8 March 1599 – 10 May 1637) was a Dutch woman known for the book-long poem ''Dagh-werck'' that was written as a close collaboration with her husband, Constantijn Huygens. Intellectual Pursuits While Cons ...

. His two older brothers were

Constantijn Huygens, Jr. Constantijn Huygens Jr., Lord of Zuilichem (10 March 1628 – October 1697), was a Dutch statesman and poet, mostly known for his work on scientific instruments (sometimes together with his younger brother Christiaan Huygens). But, he was also a ...

and the scientist

Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , , ; also spelled Huyghens; la, Hugenius; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor, who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of ...

. He was admitted to the

Orange College of Breda The Orange College of Breda ( la, Collegium Auriacum) was a college of higher learning at Breda in the Dutch Republic in the middle of the 17th century, teaching divinity, philosophy, mathematics, and law. In English it was sometimes called the A ...

in 1649, but in 1651 got into trouble for fighting a duel. Soon after this he was sent on a diplomatic mission to England.Lodewijck Huygens, ''The English Journal: 1651-1652'', p. 13 In 1672 the newly appointed Stadtholder

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

, later King William III of England and Ireland and William II of Scotland, appointed Huygens as sheriff of

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of Oc ...

. His actions as sheriff eventually resulted in considerable strife between local factions, whereby Huygens was faced with a formidable opponent, Jacob van der Ulft. Accusations of corruption against Huygens eventually resulted in a criminal case before the Provincial Court of Holland and Zeeland, yet in 1678 Huygens was allowed to return to his office of sheriff of Gorinchem. Strife and conflict in the city of Gorinchem continued after His return, which ultimately resulted in his fall from grace, with his patron William III giving him less support after 1685. Huygens was persuaded to give up his office as sheriff of Gorinchem and was appointed a member of the Admiralty of the Meuse instead.

Personal life

On 5 May 1674, when he was aged 43, Huyghens married Jacoba Teding van Berkhout (1645–1711), a daughter of Paulus Teding van Berkhout and Jacomina van der Vorst. They had eight children, but only the first three sons survived infancy: Constantijn, born 10 March 1675 at Gorinchem,

Gorkum Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The municipality of Gorinchem al ...

, Louis Diederik, born 2 May 1676 at the Hague,

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, and Paulus, born 24 August 1677 at Gorinchem. Their other five children all died within a few days of birth, apart from Maurits, born about 1686, who died before he was one year old. Susanna Christina was born and died circa 1679, Christiaan Hendrik was born 19 April 1680 at Gorinchem and died a few days later, Christiaan Philips, born 29 July 1681 at Gorinchem, died a few hours after, as did Adriaan, born 18 August 1682.

References

Bibliography

Edward Chaney Edward Chaney (born 1951) is a British cultural historian. He is Professor Emeritus at Solent University and Honorary Professor at University College London (School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS) – Centre for Early Modern ...

, ''The Grand Tour and the Great Rebellion'' (Slatkine, Geneva and C.I.R.V.I. Moncalieri, 1985). *

Herbert H. Rowen Herbert Harvey Rowen (22 October 1916 in Brooklyn, New York – 31 March 1999 in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania), was a noted American historian of Early Modern Europe and "arguably the most important English-speaking historian of the Dut ...

, American historian, (1916–1999), ''John de Witt, Statesman of the True Freedom'' (Cambridge University Press, 1986, New edition (2002)). 236 pages. . *Herbert H. Rowen ''John de Witt, Grand Pensionary of Holland, 1625–1672''. Princeton University Press. (1978), 950 pages. . Bibliography: pages 895 – 928. *

Quentin Skinner Quentin Robert Duthie Skinner (born 26 November 1940) is a British intellectual historian. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Cambridge School of the history of political thought. He has won numerous prizes for his work, including th ...

, born November 1940, is now the

Barber Beaumont John Thomas Barber Beaumont (1774–1841) was a British army officer, painter, author, and philanthropist. He was successful in the insurance business, and projected a settlement in South America. Life Born John Thomas Barber on 21 December 17 ...

Professor of the Humanities at

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

. In his ''Visions of politics : Vol III,

Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...

and Civil Science'', Pp. xvii + 386. New York: Cambridge University Press, (2002), he mentions Lodewijck Huygens as being influenced by

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...

, (1588–1679). * H.F. de Wit, Gorcums Heren. Regentenpolitiek 1650–1750 (Gorinchem 1981, 20–31) A.G.H. Bachrach and R.G. Collmer, Lodewijck Huygens The English Journal 1651-1652 (Leiden: E.J. Brill/Leiden University Press (1982)

Life

Personal life

References

Bibliography

See also