Christiaan Huygens (pronounce /ˈhaɪgənz/ in English, IPA: [ˈhœyɣəns] in Dutch) (April 14, 1629 – July 8, 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, astronomer and physicist; born in The Hague as the son of Constantijn Huygens, a friend of René Descartes. He studied law and mathematics at the University of Leiden and the College of Orange in Breda before turning to science. Historians commonly associate Huygens with the scientific revolution.