| Authorised form of name | Aston; Francis (c1644 - 1715); courtier |
| Other forms of surname | Ashton |
| Dates | c1644 - 1715 |
| Nationality | British |
| Date of birth | c. 1644 |
| Place of death | Whitehall, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Date of death | c. June 1715 |
| Occupation | Courtier |
| Activity | Education:
Westminster School; Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1665; MA 1668)
Career:
Fellow of Trinity (1667); travelled abroad (1669); Gentleman Usher to Queen Anne
Memberships:
Oxford Philosophical Society |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 30/11/1678 |
| Proposer | Edward Brown |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Secretary 1681-1685; Council 1680-1685, 1694, 1699-1700, 1706, 1708, 1710, 1712, 1714 ; Editor of the 'Philosophical Transactions': 1682-1686 (along with Robert Plot and William Musgrave) |
| Other Royal Society activity | Appointed to the Committee to inspect the letters and papers relating to the Leibniz-Newton dispute (1712);
Purchased Francis Hauksbee's air pump for the Society just before his death;
Bequeathed the entire estate at Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire to the Society (1716) |
| Relationships | Parents: Francis Ashton
Siblings: William Ashton |
| OtherInfo | Later on in his duties as the Society's secretary, Aston was able to secure fair recompense for his services. He was quite active as a Council member and a Secretary and frequently attended. Unfortunately, not much else outside of his contributions to the Society is known about Aston. It was through his brother William, who was an agent to John Harrington, that the family came to own the Mablethorpe estate. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
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| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; Hunter; Venn; N&R; Gunther; Barker
References:
S, C S. 1938. 'The Society's Library', in Notes and Records, vol. 1, pp. 21-27
1940. 'Biographical Notes - Francis Ashton, 1645-1715', in Notes and Records, vol. 3, pp. 88-92 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/47145003641961340275 |
| Code | NA4559 |
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EL/L5/115 | Letter, from S A von L to Francis Aston | November 1685 |
| DM/5/115 | List of benefactors to the Royal Society | 17th-18th century |
| LBO/9/109 | Copy letter from William Musgrave to Francis Aston | 18 September 1684 |
| LBO/8/86 | Copy letter from Martin Lister, York, to Francis Aston | 11 February 1681 |
| IM/000146 | Aston, Francis | nd |
| DM/5/114 | List of benefactors to the Royal Society | 17th-18th century |
| P/0003 | Portrait of Aston, Francis | c1700 |
| EL/O2/178 | Letter, from Johannes Ericus Ohloff to Francis Aston, dated at Danzig (Gdansk) | 1683 |
| EL/M1/84 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 22 April 1684 |
| EL/H2/61 | Letter, from Johannes Hevelius to Francis Aston, dated at Danzig (Gdansk) | 4 April 1685 |
| EL/M1/88 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 27 December 1684 |
| EL/R1/46 | Letter, from William Rhyne to Francis Aston, dated at Passau | 25 August 1683 |
| EL/L1/71 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Francis Aston, dated at Delft | 14 April 1684 |
| EL/H2/58 | Letter, from Johannes Hevelius to Francis Aston, dated at Danzig (Gdansk) | 30 September 1683 |
| EL/M1/87 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 23 December 1684 |
| EL/R1/43 | Letter, from Salomon Reisel to Francis Aston, dated at Stuttgardiae [Stuttgart] | 12 February 1686 |
| EL/M1/90 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 27 October 1685 |
| EL/R1/40 | Letter, from Salomon Reisel to Francis Aston, dated at Stuttgardiae [Stuttgart] | 5 April 1685 |
| EL/A/44 | Letter, from Mr A [Francis Aston] to his publisher [Richard Waller] | 1693 |
| EL/M1/89 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 5 February 1685 |
| EL/H2/62 | Letter, from Johannes Hevelius, dated at Danzig (Gdansk) to Francis Aston | 19 May 1685 |
| EL/R1/39 | Letter, from Salomon Reisel to Francis Aston, dated at Stuttgardiae [Stuttgart] | 6 March 1685 |
| EL/H2/63 | Letter, from Johannes Hevelius to Francis Aston, dated at Danzig (Gdansk) | 29 December 1685 |
| EL/M1/93 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 14 November 1685 |
| EL/A/31 | Letter, from St George Ashe to Francis Aston, dated at Trinity College Dublin | 16 September 1685 |
| EL/L1/69 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Francis Aston, dated at Delft | 17 September 1683 |
| EL/M1/92 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 12 November 1685 |
| EL/I1/175 | Letter, from William Jessop to Francis Aston | nd |
| EL/L1/70 | Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Francis Aston, dated at Delft | 28 December 1683 |
| EL/M1/85 | Letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 7 June 1684 |
| EL/M1/91 | Translation of a letter, from William Molyneux to Francis Aston, dated at Dublin | 1686 |