Stevin , Simon

Stevin , Simon
(1548–1620) Flemish mathematician and engineer
Stevin was also known as Stevinus, the Latinized form of his name. Born in the city of Bruges, he worked for a time as a clerk in Antwerp, eventually working his way up to become quartermaster of the army under Prince Maurice of Nassau. While in this post he devised a system of sluices, which could flood the land as a defense should Holland be attacked.
Stevin was a versatile man who contributed to several areas of science. Mathematics owes to him the introduction of the decimal system of notating fractions. This system was perfected when John Napier invented the decimal point. Stevin helped to popularize the practice of writing scientific works in modern languages (in his case Dutch) rather than Latin, which for so long had been the traditional European language of learning. However such was the hold of the old ways that Willebrord Snell thought it was worthwhile to translate some of Stevin's work into Latin. To hydrostatics he contributed the discovery that the shape of a vessel containing liquid is irrelevant to the pressure that liquid exerts. He also did some experimental work in statics and in the study of the Earth's magnetism.

Scientists. . 2011.

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  • Stevin, Simon — • Born at Bruges in 1548; died at Leyden in 1620 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • STEVIN, Simon — (c. 1546 1620) Simon Stevin, an associate of Prince Maurice of Orange, began publishing his numerous and varying works in the late sixteenth century during the Golden Age of the Netherlands. Topics Steven discusses in his works include weights… …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • Stevin, Simon — born 1548, Bruges, Flanders died 1620, The Hague, Holland Flemish mathematician. In 1585 Stevin published a small pamphlet, La Thiende ( The Tenth ), in which he presented an account of decimal fractions and their daily use. Though he did not… …   Universalium

  • Stevin, Simon — ► (1548 1620) Matemático y mecánico flamenco, llamado Stephanus y Simón de Brujas. A él se deben el concepto del paralelogramo de fuerzas, el descubrimiento de la teoría de los planos inclinados y la descripción de la paradoja hidrostática. * * * …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • STEVIN, Simon — (1548–1620)    Mathematician. As a fortification en gineer, Stevin was effective in the military campaigns of the Dutch Revolt. He acted as an advisor in these matters for stadtholderMau rice. His activities concerned not only the publication of… …   Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands

  • Stevin — Stevin, Simon …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Simon Stevin — (* 1548/49 in Brügge (Flandern); † 1620) war ein flämischer Mathematiker, Physiker und Ingenieur. Er war auf vielen Gebieten der Wissenschaften theoretisch und praktisch tätig, aber am bekanntesten ist er für seine Übersetzungen vieler mathe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Stevin — Simon Stevin Simon Stevin (* 1548/49 in Brügge (Flandern); † 1620) war ein flämischer Mathematiker, Physiker und Ingenieur. Er war auf vielen Gebieten der Wissenschaften theoretisch und praktisch tätig, aber am bekanntesten ist er für seine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Simon Stévin — Simon Stevin Simon Stevin, intendant des fortifications et des canaux des Pays Bas. Simon Stevin (1548[1] à Bruges 1620) fut un ingénieur et un mathématicien f …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Simon Stevin — Simon Stevin. Simon Stevin (1548 1620), también conocido como Simón de Brujas o Stevinus (forma latinizada de su nombre) fue un matemático, ingeniero militar e hidraúlico, constructor de molinos y fortificaciones, semiólogo, contable e intendente …   Wikipedia Español

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