Authorised form of name | Ball; William (c1627 - 1690); astronomer |
Other forms of surname | Balle |
Dates | c1627 - 1690 |
Nationality | British |
Place of birth | England, Europe |
Date of birth | c. 1627 |
Place of death | Mamhead, Devon, England, Europe |
DatesAndPlaces | Burial: Temple Church, London, England, Europe (22 October 1690) |
Research field | Astronomy |
Activity | Career: Registered at Middle Temple (1646) but no record of being called to the bar; made observations and drawings of Saturn (1656-1659, 1665-1666)
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Membership category | Founder Fellow |
Date of election | 22/04/1663 |
RSActivity | Royal Society roles: Treasurer 1660-1663 Committee and panels: Audit Committee (1668) |
Other Royal Society activity | Upon his retirement as Treasurer, Ball gifted the Society a iron chest with three locks and the keys, which is still in the possession of the Society today |
Relationships | Parents: Sir Peter Ball and Ann Cooke Siblings: sixteen, incl. Peter Ball (FRS 1663) Married: Mary Posthuma Hussey Children: five sons and one daughter |
OtherInfo | Ball stemmed from a legal and mercantile family in Devon, whose estate however was reportedly split and fortune decreased at the beginning of William Ball's life. It also slightly unclear of he belonged to a group of displaced royalists who met in London, amongst whom were also Seth Ward (FRS 1661) and Christopher Wren (Founder Fellow), or whether he became interested in astronomy through lectures at Gresham College. The level of detail in Ball's first accounts as Treasurer fill in much of the administrative history of the Society and its earliest Fellows. Ball's astronomical observations on a belt around Saturn played an important part in Christopher Wren and Christiaan Huygens' work and theories on a elliptical 'corona' and a solid circular ring. |
Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
Source | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; ODNB References: Armitage, A. 1960. 'William Ball, FRS (1627-1690)', in Notes and Records, vol. 15, pp. 167-172 Gribbin, J. 2004. 'The Fellowship' (Penguin Books) Maddison, R E W. 1959. 'The Accompt of William Balle from 28 November 1660 to 11 September 1663', in Notes and Records, vol. 14, pp. 174-183 Turnbull, G H. 1953. 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society', in notes and Records, vol. 10, pp. 101-130 Notes: The election date is Ball'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 present at the foundation meeting on 28 Nov 1660, which means he is considered one of the twelve Founder Fellows. |
Code | NA4277 |
RefNo | Title | Date |
MM/16/37 | Minutes of a committee 'for examining and auditing the accompts of the Treasurer of the Royal Society' | 28 November 1664 |
MM/16/40 | Letter from William Balle, Exeter, to Robert Hooke | 28 Mar 1682 |
DM/5/73 | 'Experiments etc recommended to Dr Balle' | 6 April 1664 |
DM/5/73E | 'Experiments and Matters recommended to Mr William Balle' | 1664 |
MS/390/71 | Bond of William Balle to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 20 October 1676 |
DM/5/101 | A list of benefactors to the Museum, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
CLP/4i/1 | Paper,'Quicksilver experiment at Mamhead' by William Ball | 1661 |
EL/B1/109 | Letter, from William Balle to Robert Moray, dated at Mamhead, Devon | 15 September 1666 |
EL/B1/109a | Letter, from William Balle to John Hoskins, dated at Exeter, Devon | 3 July 1682 |
EL/B1/108 | Letter, from William Balle to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Mamhead, Devon | 14 April 1666 |
RBO/1/29 | 'An Account of the QuickSilver Experiment made at Mamhead by Mr William Ball' | nd |