Hugo Grotius

10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) was a Dutch humanist, jurist, and statesman widely regarded as a father of international law. His On the Law of War and Peace (1625) laid the foundations of the modern law of nations, and his earlier Mare Liberum argued for freedom of the seas. Imprisoned for life amid Dutch religious-political strife, he made a famous escape hidden in a book chest and spent his later years as Sweden's ambassador to France.

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Life events

Born in Delft, Holland
10 April 1583

Hugo Grotius (Huig de Groot) was born on 10 April 1583 into a learned Delft family; he proved a prodigy, entering university at age 11.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Entered Leiden University at age eleven
1594

Grotius matriculated at Leiden in 1594, studying under leading humanists such as Joseph Scaliger.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Received a doctorate in law from the University of Orleans
1598

During a 1598 diplomatic mission to France, the fifteen-year-old Grotius was awarded a law doctorate at Orleans.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Maria van Reigersberch
July 1608

In 1608 Grotius married Maria van Reigersberch, who later played a decisive role in his prison escape.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published Mare Liberum, arguing for freedom of the seas
1609

The 1609 treatise defended the right of all nations to use the seas for trade, a cornerstone of the law of the sea.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Sentenced to life imprisonment at Loevestein Castle
May 1619

After the 1618 coup by Maurice of Nassau in the Remonstrant controversy, Grotius was tried and condemned in 1619 to life imprisonment.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Escaped from Loevestein Castle hidden in a book chest and fled to Paris
22 March 1621

On 22 March 1621, with his wife's help, Grotius escaped concealed in a chest supposedly full of books and made his way to France.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Published De jure belli ac pacis (On the Law of War and Peace)
1625

The 1625 treatise, written in Parisian exile, systematized the law of nations and earned Grotius the title of father of international law.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Served as Sweden's ambassador to France
1634 – 1645

From 1634 to 1645 Grotius represented Queen Christina's Sweden at the French court in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died at Rostock after a shipwreck in the Baltic
28 August 1645

Returning from Sweden, Grotius was shipwrecked and died exhausted at Rostock on 28 August 1645; he was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓