| Authorised form of name | Cudworth; Ralph (1617 - 1688); philosopher and theologian |
| Dates | 1617 - 1688 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Aller, Somerset, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 1617 |
| Place of death | Christ's College, Cambridge, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 26 June 1688 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Baptism:
Aller, Somerset, England, Europe (13 July 1617)
Burial:
Christ's College chapel, Cambridge, England, Europe (27 June 1688) |
| Occupation | Clergyman, Church of England |
| Research field | Mechanical philosophy |
| Activity | Education:
Pupil of his step-father, Dr Stoughton; Emmanuel College, Cambridge (BA 1635; MA 1639; BD 1646; DD 1651)
Career:
Fellow of Emmanuel (1639); published 'A Discourse Concerning the True Notion of the Lord's Supper' and 'The Union of Christ and the Church a Shadow' (1642); Master of Clare Hall, Cambridge (1646-1654); Regius Professor of Hebrew, University of Cambridge (1645-death); Incumbent of North Cadbury, Somerset (1650); Master of Christ's College, Cambridge (1654); Adviser to the scholars preparing the Polyglot Bible (1654-1657); Rector of Toft, Cambridgeshire (1656); Vicar of Great Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire (1656); Rector of Ashwell, Hertfordshire (1662); Prebendary of Gloucester (1678); published 'The true intellectual system of the universe, wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and its impossibility demonstrated' (1678); one of the Cambridge Platonists
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 17/09/1662 |
| Proposer | John Wilkins |
| Relationships | Parents: Dr Ralph Cudworth and Mary Machell
Married: Damaris Andrewes
Children: approx. four, incl. Damaris Masham |
| OtherInfo | He had active roles under Cromwell, which caused some royalists to be critical of Cudworth's continued mastership of Christ's College Cambridge after the Restoration in 1660. His most well-known work is his 1678 on the impossibility of atheism, which garnered some criticism for seemingly reporting atheists' reasoning fairly. His work on morality remained as manuscripts at his death in 1688. He was close acquaintances with Henry More (FRS 1664) and John Worthington through his involvement with the group of philosophers and clergymen later known as the Cambridge Platonists. |
| Source | Sources:
DNB; DSB; Venn; Hunter; ODNB
Notes:
While Blount was elected in 1661, he is not considered an Original Fellow of the Royal Society, a classification reserved for those named in the second charter of the Society granted in 1663, or elected within the following two month period stipulated therein for the declaration of Fellows. The original Fellows are only those who were officially declared at the meetings of 20 May 1663 and 22 June 1663, so elections like Blount's that predated these meetings were no longer recognised. He was not elected after the second charter's admission period. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/39466716 |
| Code | NA4534 |