| Authorised form of name | Sherard; William (1659 - 1728) |
| Other forms of surname | Sherwood |
| Dates | 1659 - 1728 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Bushby, Leicestershire, England |
| Date of birth | 27 February 1659 |
| Place of death | London |
| Date of death | 11 August 1728 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Eltham, Kent |
| Research field | Botany |
| Antiquities |
| Activity | Education:
Merchant Taylors' School; St John's College, Oxford; BCL (1683), Incorporated at Cambridge (1685), DCL (1694); studied botany under Tournefort in Paris (1686-1688); Leyden (admitted 1694); Padua (admitted 1696)
Career:
Fellow of St John's (1683-1703); granted permission to travel abroad for three periods of five years each (1685); travelled to Geneva, Rome and Naples, Cornwall and Jersey, sending lists of the plants he saw to John Ray (FRS 1667); Tutor to Sir Arthur Rawdon at Moira, Co Down (1690-1694), Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (FRS 1706), with whom he travelled in Europe (1694), Wriothesley, son of William, Lord Russell, with whom he travelled in France and Italy (1695-1699), Henry, Duke of Beaufort, at Badminton (1700-1702); Commissioner for Sick and Wounded Prisoners (1702); English Consul at Smyrna, where he grew many rare plants in his garden, formed a celebrated herbarium and travelled in Asia Minor (1703-1717); travelled in Europe (1721, 1723, 1727); bequeathed £3000 to found the chair of Botany at Oxford first occupied by his friend John James Dillenius (FRS 1724) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 25/02/1720 |
| Proposer | Edmond Halley |
| Robert Balle |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1727 |
| Relationships | Son of George Sherard or Sherwood of Bushby, Leicestershire; brother of James Sherard (FRS 1706) |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Innes Smith; Venn; Munk's Roll (Sherard, James)
References:
Marta Cavazza, 'The Institute of Science of Bologna and the Royal Society in the eighteenth century' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 3-25, plate
John H Appleby, 'Ginseng and the Royal Society' in NR 1982-83 vol 37 pp 121-145
Frank N Egerton, 'Richard Bradley's Relationship with Sir Hans Sloane' in NR 1970 vol 25 pp 59-77
Raymond Phineas Stearns, 'Fellows of the Royal Society in North Africa and the Levant, 1662-1800' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 75-90
Jean Jacquot, 'Sir Hans Sloane and French Men of Science' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 85-98
C S S, 'The Society's Library' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 21-27
Notes:
DSB gives year of election as 1718. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/68918647 |
| Code | NA5817 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| RBO/11/27 | 'A farther account of the same (Poyson) Tree by William Sherard' | 1720 |
| MS/108 | Papers on mercantile interests of William Sherard | |
| MS/390/185 | Bond of William Sherard to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 16 March 1720 |
| CLP/2/28 | Paper, 'The way of making severall China varnishes sent from the Jesuits in China to the Great Duke of Tuscany' by unknown author | [1700] |
| MS/252 | William Sherard papers | 1694-1738 |
| CLP/10i/46 | Paper, 'A farther account of the same tree' by William Sherard | 1720s |
| RBO/8/11 | 'The way of making Several China varnishes sent from the Jesuits in China to the great Duke of Tuscany' communicated by Dr William Sherard | nd |
| CLP/2/27 | Paper, 'Mado di cuocere il charam della China al sola' ['Way of making the Chinese varnish'] by unknown author | [c1700] |
| CLP/14i/55 | Paper, 'Of the strange effects of Indian varnish' by Joseph del Papa | [1701] |