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Authorised form of nameVossius; Isaacus (1618 - 1689); philologist and author
Other forms of nameIsaac
Vos, Isaacus
Dates1618 - 1689
NationalityDutch
Place of birthCollegium Theologicum, Leyden, Netherlands, Europe
Date of birth1618
Place of deathWindsor, Berkshire, England, Europe
Date of death21 February 1689
OccupationClergyman, Church of England
ActivityEducation:
Taught at home in variety of subjects; DCL (Oxford 1670)
Career:
Travelled to Rome and Florence, France and perhaps England (1642); city librarian of Amsterdam (1646-1648) and appointed historiographer of the States of Holland and Zeeland; travelled to Sweden at the invitation of Queen Christina (1649-1652), taught her Greek and sold her his father's library; joined the Church of England (1663); travelled to England (1670); Canon of Windsor (1673); naturalised British (1674)
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election20/04/1664
ProposerWalter Charleton
Other Royal Society activityProposed on the same day he was elected
RelationshipsParents: Gerard John Vos [Gerardus Johannes Vossius] and Elizabeth Junius [du Jon]
PublishedWorksRCN: R64988
RCN: R64987
RCN: R67066
RCN: R64985
RCN: R67067
RCN: 31037
RCN: 32258
RCN: R64989
RCN: R64986
OtherInfoDuring his travels, Vossius formed contacts with well-known scholars across Europe, e.g. James Ussher, Hugo de Groot, and Henri du Valois. As court librarian in Sweden, he travelled once more to acquire new works for the library. As a writer, he was interested in a variety of topics, including ancient geography, chronology, and classical literature. His more religious treatises caused some controversy at the time and later on, he became more interested in natural philosophy and mathematics. His library, considered one of the best private libraries in the world, consisted of approx. 4,000 books and more than 700 manuscripts, and was bought by Leyden University after his death.
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Foster; Hunter; Shaw LD; ODNB
References:
Douglas McKie, 'James, Duke of York, FRS' in NR 1958 vol 13 pp 6-18
Notes:
Correspondence of Isaac Vossius in EMLO project by the Bodleian library [http://emlo-portal.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/collections/?catalogue=isaac-vossius; last accessed 28/03/2022]
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/54197108
CodeNA8207
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
CLP/7i/26Paper, 'Observables of China' by [Isaak] Vossius[17th Century]
CLP/7i/42Paper, on longitude by [Isaak] Vossius[17th Century]
CLP/7i/41Paper, regarding reflections on [Isaak] Vossius's theory of longitude by Henry Justel1688
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