Person Waller; Richard (c1646 - 1715); natural philosopher and translator Waller Richard natural philosopher and translator c 1646 - 1715 British Male c 1646 January 1715 1715

Broad Street, London; Northaw, Hertfordshire; Mynty, Gloucestershire

Botany Parents: Mary Waller (afterwards More) Married: Anna Blackwell Additional relatives: brother-in-law Alexander Pitfeild (FRS 1684) and Jonas Blackwell (FRS 1692) Some sources have identified Waller as James Waller's son, who attended Christ's College, Cambridge. However, the identity of Waller's mother is stated clearly in his will as Mrs Mary More and there are no records of the Fellow Richard Waller having attended any British university. He held connections with the businessmen in the Society's ranks, e.g. James Pettiver (FRS 1695) and Abraham Hill (FRS 1660). He was a close acquaintance of Robert Hooke (FRS 1663), whose papers he later edited and published. One of his most important translations was his 'Essays of Natural Experiments', translated from the Italian Accademia del Cimento's 'Saggi di naturali esperienze'. Waller was a keen illustrator of scientific ideas and saw the importance of visual displays of knowledge. Royal Society roles: Secretary 1687-1709, 1710-1714; Vice-President 1709-?; Council 1684, 1686-1699 ; Editor of the 'Philosophical Transactions': 1692-1696 (assisted by Edmond Halley, Hans Sloane and others) Fellow 27/04/1681 William Croone Translated foreign contributions to the 'Philosophical Transactions'; Had papers published in the 'Transactions' on a variety of topics, including natural history; Edited Robert Hooke's (FRS 1663) papers after his death (1705); Built the Society's 'repository' at a cost of £400 and accepted £300 as payment on the condition he be listed as a benefactor (1712) Sources: Bulloch's Roll; Venn; Hunter; NR; ODNB References: Bennett, J A. 1972-73. 'Wren's Last Building?', in Notes and Records, vol. 27, pp. 107-118 Ezell, M J M. 1983-84. 'Richard Waller, SRS: 'In Pursuit of Nature'', in Notes and Records, vol. 38, pp. 215-233 Jardine, L. 2004. 'The 2003 Wilkins Lecture: Dr Wilkins's boy wonders', in Notes and Records, vol. 58, pp. 107-129 Kusukawa S. 2011. 'Picturing knowledge in the early Royal Society: the examples of Richard Waller and Henry Hunt', in Notes and Records, vol. 65, pp. 273-294 Rivington, C A. 1985-86. 'Addendum. Early Printers to the Royal Society, 1663-1708', in Notes and Records, vol. 40, pp.219-220 Notes: ODNB has approx. 1660 as year of birth. Venn has a Richard Waller with an estimated lifespan between 1646 and 1744. Waller_RS9666.jpg ©The Royal Society International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Waller%2C+Richard RCN: 39415 RCN: 57977 RCN: 45226 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH8831 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-9666 c 1646 - between 23 Dec 1714 and 13 Jan 1715 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 07/10/2022 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA6739 21/11/2001 Andyg Martind 06/05/2025 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/74234132 3e8342bc-1604-40b1-a282-47e5d3a4f306