Christiaan Huygens: the collections and the canon

11 June 2007
: Since the 3 July 2007 Christiaan Huygens has been part of the definitive Dutch historical canon. The commission, under the expert guidance of Frits van Oostrom, the chairman of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, at the last moment added Holland's most famous scientist - who discovered the ring of Saturn and invented the pendulum clock - to the Top Fifty of Dutch Historical events and people. The inclusion of Huygens in the canon was at the expense of the invention of bookprinting, which cannot be viewed as a typical Dutch invention.

Huygens' legacy to the Leiden University Library: Immediately prior his death, Huygens (1629-1695) left his scientific papers to Leiden University, where he had studied in the period 1645-1647. This impressive collection - partly published in Oevres Complètes - is carefully preserved in the University Library and made available to Dutch and foreign scientific historians.

Access Huygens' archive: In March 2007, a three-year project to conserve the archive was completed. This project was subsidised by Stichting Academisch Erfgoed. During this project, the paper damage to exercise books correspondence and notes more than three centuries old has been restored and the ink corrosion treated. Now the Huygens' archive has been stored completely acid-free and is also available digitally in the Digital Special Collections.