Huygens' headache.

BACKGROUND

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He became well-known as inventor of the pendulum clock and described light as a wave phenomenon. He became Fellow of the Royal Society (London) and member of the Académie des Sciences (Paris). From the correspondence with family members and famous scientists, we learn that he suffered from frequent headaches.

OBJECTIVE

To study Huygens' 22-volume Oeuvres Complètes (1888-1950) to find letters in which his headaches are mentioned and translate pertinent sections into English.

CONCLUSIONS

Although a posthumous diagnosis of Huygens' headaches is somewhat hazardous, the recurrent episodes with incapacitating headache and family history over two generations are suggestive for migraine. It becomes clear that it impeded his writing, reading, and research. From the letters we get an impression of the impact of the headache upon his life and the treatments that were applied in the 17th century.