| Authorised form of name | Paston; Robert (1631 - 1683); 1st Earl of Yarmouth; politician |
| Dates | 1631 - 1683 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Oxnead Hall, Norfolk, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 29 May 1631 |
| Date of death | 08 March 1683 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Oxnead Hall, Norfolk, England, Europe |
| Research field | Chemistry |
| Alchemy |
| Activity | Education:
Westminster School; Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1646)
Career:
Travelled abroad (late 1640s); Justice of the Peace, Norfolk (1659-death); MP for Thetford, Norfolk (1660); Commissioner for oyer and terminer, Norfolk (1660); MP for Castle Rising, Norfolk (1661-1673); Commissioner for Assessment for Norfolk (1660-1673); Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk (1660-1676); Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (1667-death); High Steward of Yarmouth (1674-death); Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk (1676-death); Vice-Admiral of Norfolk (1676-death); Joint Surveyor of the Green Wax (1677-1679); Colonel of the 3rd Norfolk Militia (1679)
Honours:
Kt 1660; 1st Viscount Yarmouth 1673; Earl 1679
|
| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Proposer | Nathaniel Henshaw |
| Date of ejection or withdrawal | 25 October 1682 (due to non-payment of subscriptions) |
| RSActivity | Committee and panels:
Chemical Committee (1664); Mechanical Committee (1664) |
| Other Royal Society activity | Acted as a patron and collaborator to Thomas Henshaw on alchemical subjects, with Henshaw acting as a mentor to Paston. Together, they were involved in experiments trying to produce a 'red elixir' (c.1667) |
| Relationships | Parents: Sir William Paston and Katherine Bertie; succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet (1663)
Married: Rebecca Clayton;
Brother-in-law: John Clayton (FRS 1663)
Children: ten overall; William Paston, Treasurer of the Household
Daughter-in-law: Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, illegitimate daughter of Charles II |
| OtherInfo | In his political offices after the Restoration, Paston tried to gain the favour of the King and was, for example, responsible for making the proposal of gaining £2.5 million for the king's supply in the second Anglo-Dutch war. The motion for such a high sum was eventually passed and Paston's reward included the extension of his estate boundaries in Yarmouth, which would grant him fishing rights and other merchandise on both sides of the river in Little Yarmouth. Later attempts to make this land more profitable to match his expenses and lifestyle put him at odds with the merchant population of Great Yarmouth. In 1666, he obtained a lease of the subsidies of wood, glass, earthen and stone ware, oranges, citrons, lemons and pomegranates, from which he reportedly made a profit of nearly £5,000. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Venn; GEC; Henning; ODNB
References:
Donald R Dickson, 'Thomas Henshaw and Sir Robert Paston's Pursuit of the Red Elixir: An Early Collaboration Between Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 1997 vol 51 pp 57-76
Notes:
The election date is Paston'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 admitted into the Society on 18 December 1661. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/23581458 |
| Code | NA8373 |