Editing Simon Stevin (section)

== Biography ==
Very little is known with certainty about Simon Stevin's life, and what we know is mostly inferred from other recorded facts.<ref name=EJD>[[E. J. Dijksterhuis]] (1970) ''Simon Stevin: Science in the Netherlands around 1600'', The Hague: [[Martinus Nijhoff Publishers]], Dutch original 1943, 's-Gravenhage</ref> The exact birth date and the date and place of his death are uncertain.  It is assumed he was born in [[Bruges]], since he enrolled at [[Leiden University]] under the name ''Simon Stevinus Da Brugensis'' (meaning "Simon Stevin from Bruges").  His name is usually written as Stevin, but some documents regarding his father use the spelling ''Stevijn'' (pronunciation [ˈste:vεɪn]); this was a common spelling shift in 16th-century Dutch.<ref>[http://users.ugent.be/~gvdbergh/files/vlaamsestam.html (nl) G. Van de Bergh Het tijdschrift ''De Vlaamse Stam'', jaargang 34, pp. 323–328] and [http://users.ugent.be/~gvdbergh/files/vlaamsestam_fn.html#fn0 (nl) Bibliography to the Van Den Bergh article in ''De Vlaamse Stam']</ref> 
Simon Stevin's mother, Cathelijne (or Catelyne), was the daughter of a wealthy family from [[Ypres]]; her father Hubert was a [[poorter]] of Bruges.  Cathelijne would later marry Joost Sayon, who was involved in the carpet and [[silk]] trade and was a member of the [[schutterij|schuttersgilde]] Sint-Sebastiaan. Through her marriage, Cathelijne became a member of a family of [[Calvinist]]s; it is thought that Simon Stevin was likely brought up in the Calvinist faith.<ref name=Stevin_MacTutor/>

It is believed that Stevin grew up in a relatively affluent environment and enjoyed a good education.  He was likely educated at a [[Latin school]] in his hometown.<ref name=mag>The Wonderful World of Simon Stevin: 'Magic is No Magic', J. T. Devreese, G. Vanden Berghe, WIT Press, 1st ed., 2008</ref>

=== Simon Stevin's travels ===
Stevin left Bruges in 1571 apparently without a particular destination.  Stevin was most likely a [[Calvinist]] since a [[Catholic]] would likely not have risen to the position of trust he later occupied with [[Maurice, Prince of Orange]].  It is assumed that he left Bruges to escape the religious persecution of Protestants by the Spanish rulers. Based on references in his work ''"Wisconstighe Ghedaechtenissen"'' (Mathematical Memoirs), it has been inferred that he must have moved first to Antwerp where he began his career as a merchant's [[clerk]].<ref>Dijksterhuis E.J. (ed.), The Principal Works of Simon     Stevin, vol I, Mechanics (N.V. Swets & Zeitlinger, Amsterdam 1955)</ref> Some biographers mention that he travelled to [[Prussia]], [[Poland]], [[Denmark]], [[Norway]] and [[Sweden]] and other parts of [[Northern Europe]], between 1571 and 1577.  It is possible that he completed these travels over a longer period of time.  In 1577 Simon Stevin returned to Bruges and was appointed [[clerk|city clerk]] by the [[aldermen]] of Bruges, a function he occupied from 1577 to 1581.  He worked in the office of Jan de Brune of the [[Brugse Vrije]], the [[castellany]] of Bruges.

Why he had returned to Bruges in 1577 is not clear.  It may have been related to the political events of that period. Bruges was the scene of intense religious conflict. Catholics and Calvinists alternately controlled the government of the city.  They usually opposed each other but would occasionally collaborate in order to counteract the dictates of King [[Philip II of Spain]].  In 1576 a certain level of official religious tolerance was decreed. This could explain why Stevin returned to Bruges in 1577.  Later the Calvinists seized power in many Flemish cities and incarcerated Catholic clerics and secular governors supportive of the Spanish rulers.  Between 1578 and 1584 Bruges was ruled by Calvinists.

=== Simon Stevin in the Netherlands ===
In 1581 Stevin again left his native Bruges and moved to [[Leiden]] where he attended the Latin school.<ref name=mag/> On 16 February 1583 he enrolled, under the name ''Simon Stevinus Brugensis'' (meaning "Simon Stevin from Bruges"), at [[Leiden University]], which had been founded by [[William the Silent]] in 1575.  Here he befriended William the Silent's second son and heir Prince [[Maurice of Nassau|Maurice]], the Count of Nassau.<ref name=Stevin_MacTutor>{{MacTutor|id=Stevin|date=January 2004}}</ref> Stevin is listed in the university's registers until 1590 and apparently never graduated.

Following William the Silent's assassination and Prince Maurice's assumption of his father's office, Stevin became the principal advisor and tutor of Prince Maurice.  Prince Maurice asked his advice on many occasions, and made him a [[public office]]r – at first director of the so-called "waterstaet"<ref name=EB1911/> (the government authority for [[public works]], especially water management) from 1592, and later [[quartermaster-general]] of the army of the States-General.<ref name=isis>{{cite journal|title= Simon Stevin of Bruges (1548–1620)|author=Sarton, George|author-link=George Sarton| journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]]| volume=21| issue=2| pages=241–303 | year=1934|doi= 10.1086/346851|s2cid=144054163}}</ref> Prince Maurice also asked Stevin to found an engineering school within the University of Leiden.

Stevin moved to [[The Hague]] where he bought a house in 1612.  He married in 1610 or 1614 and had four children.  It is known that he left a [[widow]] with two children at his death in Leiden or The Hague in 1620.<ref name=Stevin_MacTutor/>