| Authorised form of name | Pett; Peter (1610 - ? 1672); naval administrator |
| Dates | 1610 - ? 1672 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Deptford, London, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 6 August 1610 |
| Date of death | ? 1672 |
| Occupation | Shipbuilder |
| Activity | Career:
Assistant to his father at Deptford and Woolwich; Master-shipwright at Chatham (1644-1667); Commissioner for Assessment for Kent (1649-1652, 1657, 1660-1663); Commissioner of the Navy at Chatham (1648-1667); Commissioner for Scandalous Ministers for Kent (1654); MP for Rochester (1659, 1660); imprisoned in the Tower of London (1667) on a charge of disobeying orders from the Duke of York prior to a Dutch attack on the English fleet
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| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Proposer | Robert Boyle |
| RSActivity | Committee and panels:
Mechanical Committee (1664) |
| Relationships | Parents: Phineas Pett and Anne Nicholls
Additional relatives: first cousin once removed of Sir Peter Pett (FRS 1663)
Married: 2) Mary Smith; 3) Elizabeth Hatton |
| OtherInfo | As Commissioner of the Navy at Chatham, Pett was in continuous conflict with William Adderley due to the latter's accusations of nepotism and potential fraud against him. In his role, Pett filled many important posts in the shipyards with his relatives, which ultimately led to a possible decline in Chatham yard's efficiency. This allegedly made him an easier target for impeachment proceedings in 1667, after disobeying orders from the Duke of York. These charges were ultimately dropped. The Pett family remained a prominent name in the navy and military throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Henning; ODNB
References:
Thrower, N J W. 2003. 'Samuel Pepys FRS (1633-1733) and The Royal Society', in Notes and Records, vol. 57, pp. 3-13
Notes:
The election date is Pett'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 5 November 1662.
ODNB lists his place of birth as Woolwich.
Year of death unclear, but Pett's name is last on printed list in 1671. |
| Code | NA1172 |