| Authorised form of name | Schroter; William (1640 - 1699); public administrator |
| Other forms of name | Wilhelm |
| Other forms of surname | Schroeder |
| Dates | 1640 - 1699 |
| Nationality | German |
| Place of birth | Knigsberg, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha |
| Date of birth | 15 November 1640 |
| Place of death | Eperies [Preaov], Hungary |
| Date of death | 1689 or October 1699 |
| Occupation | civil servant; industrialist |
| Research field | Chemistry |
| Metallurgy |
| Activity | Education:
Gotha grammar school; Jena (admitted 1659)
Career:
Entered the service of the Emperor Leopold I (1674); travelled to England to study industry (1675-1677); ran the factory founded by Johann Joachim Becher in Vienna (1677-1681); Counsellor of the Exchequer for Kaschau [Koaice] and Preburg [Bratislava] in the Kingdom of Hungary (1687-1688)
|
| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Proposer | Robert Boyle |
| Other Royal Society activity | Conducted experiments on saltpetre (1662); Acted as a correspondent to the Society regarding some industry and manufacture (1671) |
| Relationships | Parents: Wilhelm Schröder and Anna Katharina Low
Siblings: incl. Johann Wilhelm Schröder; Wilhelm Daniel Schröder
Married: Henrica Susanna |
| OtherInfo | Schroter was a figure of mercantilism and cameralism, which supported predominantly centralised economic policies that strengthen the political leader. His most influential work was 'Fürstliche Schatz- und Rentkammer', dedicated to the Emperor Leopold I., which stemmed from his experience as director of Becher's company and was intended as an economical-political manifesto of sorts after the Thirty Years' War ended in 1648. Becher had established the 'Kunst- und Werkhaus am Tabor' as a model plant for the wool and silk, as well as glass blowing industry. Schroter was not allowed to complete his studies in Jena as his dissertation, focussing on political philosophy, was a defense of unlimited absolutism. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; ADB; DBE; Neue Deutsche Biographie
References:
Hunter, M. 1976-7. 'The Social Bias and Changing Fortunes of an Early Scientific Institution: An Analysis of the Membership of the Royal Society, 1660-1685', vol. 31, pp. 9-114
Notes:
The election date is Schroter's re-election date into the Society after the grant of the second charter in April 1663. All Fellows admitted in a two-month window after this charter, until 22 June 1663, are considered Original Fellows. He was previously elected on 17 September 1662 and admitted into the Society on 24 September 1662. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/116260567 |
| Code | NA4924 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| RBC/1/73 | 'A Way how to increase Saltpeter [saltpetre] in great Quantities By Mr Schroter' | 7 January 1663 |
| CLP/3i/58 | Paper, 'The manner of making at Norimberg [Nuremberg] in Germany the foliers, which the goldsmiths use to put under the precious stones' by unknown author | [1671] |
| CLP/9i/6 | Paper, 'A way how to increase saltpeter [saltpetre] in great quantity' by Mr [William] Schroter | 1662 |
| MC/23/442 | Letter from Dr Heinrich Ritter von Srbik, Wien, Österreich, to The Royal Society | 7 October 1908 |