Simon Stevin (1548-1620) was an influential mathematician and engineer with a broad range of interests. He offered new insights and discoveries in the development of decimal numbers and the laws of inclines, gravity, hydrostatics, and fortification....

An encyclopedic mind and a prolific writer on many topics, Stevin, known as "the Dutch Archimedes," contributed to many areas of knowledge, particularly arithmetic, algebra, geometry, physics, optics, mechanics, astronomy, hydrostatics, musical theory,...

Simon Stevin was born in Bruges, Flanders, the son of Antheunis Stevin and Cathelijne van de Poort. As a young man, he began work as a bookkeeper, but soon found work as an itinerant engineer. He traveled widely, visiting France, Germany, and perhaps...

Stevin was born in Bruges, Flanders, an illegitimate child of socially prominent parents. He began his career as a bookkeeper, but eventually traded a clerical life for one of science. He traveled widely, working as an engineer, and by 1581 he was a...