| Authorised form of name | Nelson; Robert (1656 - 1715); religious writer |
| Dates | 1656 - 1715 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | London, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 22 June 1656 |
| Place of death | The house of his cousin, Mrs Wolf, Kensington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Date of death | 16 January 1715 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
Lambs Conduit Fields, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe |
| Occupation | Author |
| Activity | Education:
St Paul's School; Pupil of George Bull, Rector of Suddington, Gloucestershire, and afterwards Bishop of St David's; Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1677)
Career:
Travelled to Paris with Edmond Halley (FRS 1678) and then made the Grand Tour (1680-1682); lived at Aachen and later Florence, returning to England by way of Germany and Holland (1691); had strong Jacobite sympathies and joined the Non-Jurors, returned to the Church of England (1710); took part in various charitable enterprises, including the establishment of charity schools; Commissioner for Building Fifty New Churches
Memberships:
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; Society for the Propagation of the Gospel |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 01/04/1680 |
| Proposer | Joseph Lane |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council 1711-1712 |
| Relationships | Parents: John Nelson and Delicia Roberts
Married: Theophila Lucy (née Berkeley), widow of Sir Kingsmill Lucy (FRS 1668)
Children: stepson Sir Berkeley Lucy (FRS 1698)
Additional relatives: father-in-law George Berkeley, Earl of Berkeley (FRS 1663) |
| OtherInfo | Nelson was a frequent correspondent of John Tillotson (FRS 1672) and after his death endeavoured to secure a pension for his widow. Despite joining the Nonjurors, Nelson remained on good terms with many members of the established church's clergy and contributed to a variety of philanthropic causes. He also supported Anthony Horneck's (FRS 1669) religious societies and advocated for the establishment of charity schools. Nelson published multiple religious writings, including 'The Practice of True Devotion' and 'A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England' (1704). He was fairly inactive in the Royal Society's work.
The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), which Nelson was a member of, was formed in 1701 and was a Church of England missionary organisation aiming to establish new churches in colonised regions, limiting the influence of, for example, Quakers and converting Native Americans and free and enslaved Africans and African Americans to Christianity. |
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| Image | 
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| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; St Paul's; Hunter; Foster; ODNB
References:
Cook, A. 1993. 'Halley the Londoner', in Notes and Records, vol. 47, pp. 163-177
Cook, A. 2004. 'Rome and the Royal Society, 1660-1740', in Notes and Records, vol. 58, pp. 3-19
Notes:
Hunter gives different year of birth (1665) and states that he was not admitted until 30 November 1695. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/18664895 |
| Code | NA8404 |