| Authorised form of name | Merrett; Christopher (? 1614 - 1695); physician and writer on natural philosophy |
| Other forms of surname | Merret |
| Dates | ? 1614 - 1695 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 16 February 1614 |
| Place of death | Hatton Garden, London, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 19 August 1695 |
| Dates and places | Burial:
St Andrew's Church, Holborn, London, England, Europe |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Research field | Natural history |
| Botany |
| Glassmaking |
| Activity | Education:
Gloucester Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1632; BMed 1636, DMed 1643); Oriel College, Oxford (BA 1635)
Career:
Practised in London (1640-); Goulstonian lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians (1654); Keeper of library and museum at RCP (1654-1665); compiled first catalogue for the College (1660); Translated and expanded Antonio Neri's 'L'arte vertraria' [The Art of Glass] (1662); produced a new catalogue of British fauna, flora, and fossils (1667); published 'A Short View of the Frauds and Abuses Committed by Apothecaries' (1669)
Memberships:
FRCP (1651-1681)
|
| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Date of ejection or withdrawal | 22 July 1685 (due to non-payment) |
| Royal Society activity | Royal Society roles:
Sworn in Anniversary Day 1663
Committee and panels:
Committee for Agriculture (1664); Chairman of committee on history of trades; Committee to extract [John] Evelyn's papers (1662) |
| Other Royal Society activity | Involved in botanical and natural history experiments (e.g. ingesting plants brought back by an emissary employed to collect specimens); Collated lists of chirurgical instruments for operations intended by the Society on dead bodies. |
| Relationships | Parents: Christopher Merrett
Married: Ann Jenour [or Jenner]
Children: at least two son |
| Published works | RCN: 49232
RCN: 49234 |
| General context | Merrett's professional life was heavily affected by the plague and the great fire in 1666. During the latter, the college house was destroyed and a majority of its library and records were lost. Under pressure, Merrett had to secure documentary evidence of the College's right to control medical practice in London. He was unsuccessful in shifting physicians towards new empiricism and his post of Keeper of the Library and Museum was decided to be useless after the fire. He appealed this decision twice but was further expelled as a Fellow from the College, four years before his ejection from the Society. His translation of 'The Art of Glass' reportedly spurred a continent-wide interest in glassmaking. He is furthermore credited with the discovery of a second fermentation of wine in order to make it sparkling, presented within a paper to the Royal Society in 1662. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Foster; ODNB
Authority:
OtherFormsOfName from DNB
References:
Albert J Koinm, 'Christopher Merret's use of experiment' in NR 2000 vol 54 pp 23-32
Kathleen H Ochs, 'The Royal Society of London's History of Trades Programme: An Early Episode in Applied Science' in NR 1984-85 vol 39 pp 129-158
A Rupert Hall and Marie Boas Hall, 'The Intellectual Origins of the Royal Society - London and Oxford' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 157-168
E N da C Andrade, 'The Birth and Early Days of the Philosophical Transactions' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 9-27
W H G Armytage, 'The Royal Society and the Apothecaries' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 22-37
G H Turnbull, 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 101-130
A C S, 'Notes on the Foundation and History of the Royal Society' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 32-36
Notes:
The election date is Merrett'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 previously mentioned as a member on 2 January 1661.
Hunter gives birth date as 1615; 1614 possibly Old Style. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/51905610 |
| Royal Society code | NA8074 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| DM/5/63 | Minutes of meetings of the Committee for Agriculture | June-September 1664 |
| RBC/2/86 | 'Observations concerning the Uniting of the Barks of Trees cut, to the tree itself' brought in by Christopher Merrett | 9 January 1667 |
| RBC/2/37 | 'An Account of the Tynn Mines working of Tinn in the county of Cornewall' by Christopher Merrett | 1663 |
| RBC/1/4 | 'The Art of Refining' by Christopher Merrett | 21 February 1661 |
| RBO/9/112 | 'Paper concerning the mineral called Zaffora by Dr Merrett found amongst Dr Hooks Papers' by Richard Waller | 1713 |
| RBC/1/66 | 'Some Observations concerning the Ordering of Wines presented to the Royal Society' by Christopher Merret | 17 December 1662 |
| CLP/4i/50 | Paper, 'A table to find when the washes [in Lincolnshire] begin to be and how long they continue fordable [crossable]' by Christopher Merrett | 1 January 1695 |
| RBO/7/52 | 'An Account of Severall Observables in Lincolnshire not taken notice of in Mr Cambden or any other Author' by Christopher Merrett, surveyor of the Port of Boston | nd |
| DM/5/64 | Minutes of meetings of the Committee for Agriculture (endorsed as 'Transactions of the Georgicall Committee') | October 1664-February 1665 |
| CLP/10iii/2 | Paper, 'Some observations concerning the ordering of wines' by Christopher Merrett | 1662 |
| RBO/2ii/14 | 'Some Observations concerning the ordering of Wynes [wines] presented to the Royall Society' by Christopher Merrett | 17 December 1662 |
| CLP/9i/1 | Paper 'The Art of refining' by Christopher Merrett | [1660] |
| CLP/3i/57a/1 | Manuscript, regarding glass drops by Signor [Geminiano] Montanari | [1671] |
| CLP/7i/48 | Paper, 'An account of severall observables in Lincolnshire, not taken notice of in Camden or any other author' by Christopher Merrett | 1696 |
| CLP/10iii/11 | Paper, 'Observations concerning the uniting the barks of trees cut, to the tree it self' by [Christopher Merrett] | [1667] |
| RBO/2i/14 | 'Some observations concerning the Ordering of Wines' by Christopher Merrett | 1662 |
| CLP/3i/57a | Translation, regarding glass drops by Signor [Geminiano] Montanari | [1671] |
| CLP/9i/12 | Paper, account of tin mines and working of tin in Cornwall by Christopher Merrett | 16 December 1663 |
| RBO/1/4 | 'The Art of Refining' by Dr Merrett | 22 February 1661 |
| RBO/3/47 | 'Observations concerning the uniting of the Barks of Trees cut to the Tree itself' brought in by Christopher Merrett | 9 January 1667 |
| RBO/3/48 | 'Experiment on Aloe Americana Serratifolia, weighed' by Christopher Merrett | |