| Authorised form of name | Thoresby; Ralph (1658 - 1725); antiquary and topographer |
| Surname | Thoresby |
| Forenames | Ralph |
| Dates | 1658 - 1725 |
| Nationality | British |
| Dates and places | Birth:
Leeds, Yorkshire, England (16 August 1658)
Death:
16 October 1725
Burial:
In the chancel of St Peter's, the parish church, Leeds, Yorkshire |
| Activity | Profession:
Antiquary
Merchant
Research Field:
Botany; Antiquities
Education:
Leeds Grammar School; in the household of his relative, John Dickenson, Merchant of London
Career:
Travelled to Rotterdam (1678); carried on the family business after the death of his father (1679); Member of the Incorporated Society of Merchant Adventurers trading to Hamburg (1684); a Nonconformist as a young man, he conformed to the Church of England (1699); retired from business (1705); assembled a 'Museum of Rarities' which, with his library, was sold at auction after the death of his son, Ralph |
| Royal Society activity | Membership:
Fellow
Election Date:
30/11/1697 |
| Relationships | Son of John Thoresby, Wool and Cloth Merchant, of Leeds and his wife, Ruth, daughter of Ralph Idle of Bulmer, Yorkshire; married Anna, daughter of Richard Sykes of Leeds |
| General context | There is a Thoresby Society in Leeds |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB
References:
W H G Armytage, 'Sir Godfrey Copley, FRS (1653-1709). Some Tercentenary Glimpses through Letters to his Friends' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 54-74
P Fontes da Costa, 'The Culture of Curiosity at The Royal Society in the first half of the eighteenth century', NR 2002 vo l56 pp 147-166 |
| Royal Society code | NA4383 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| RBO/8/39 | 'An account of a Young Man Slain with Thunder and Lightning December 22 1698' from Ralph Thoresby to Martin Lister | 1698 |
| EL/T/55 | Ralph Thoresby to Martin Lister | 22 December 1698 |
| EL/T/64 | Extract of a letter from Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to John Chamberlayne | 5 February 1715 |
| EL/T/60 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to Hans Sloane | 3 November 1711 |
| EL/T/62 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to John Chamberlayne | 6 December 1712 |
| RBO/7/49 | 'An Account of the Roman Pottery' by Ralph Thoresby sent to Martin Lister | nd |
| EL/T/63 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to Hans Sloane | 25 February 1713 |
| EL/T/56 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to John Evelyn | 15 February 1699 |
| EL/T/54 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to Thomas Gale | 6 November 1697 |
| EL/T/52 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to Martin Lister | 11 November 1696 |
| EL/T/53 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to Martin Lister | 30 October 1697 |
| EL/T/61 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at London, to John Chamberlayne | 22 August 1712 |
| EL/H3/88 | Thomas Hearne, dated at Oxford, to Ralph Thoresby | 3 January 1710 |
| EL/T/58 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to John Evelyn | 24 June 1699 |
| CLP/16/29 | Figures of the bases of columns for a Roman altar from a letter from Ralph Thoresby to Hans Sloane | nd |
| LBO/11B/79 | Copy of part of a letter from Ralph Thoresby, Leeds, to Martin Lister | 10 July 1697 |
| EL/T/59 | Ralph Thoresby, dated at Leeds, to Abraham Hill | 29 June 1700 |
| RBO/11/9 | 'Some Amendments and Additions to the Account of things found underground in Lincolnshire in the Transactions of May and June Anno Domini 1702 no 279' by Ralph Thoresby | 1723 |