Person Finch; Sir; John (1626 - 1682); physician and diplomat Finch John Sir physician and diplomat 1626 - 1682 British Male London, England, Europe 1626 0 London, England, Europe 18 November 1682 16821118 Burial: Christ's College chapel, Cambridge, England, Europe (November 1682)

Physician Anatomy Education: Eton College; Mr Sylvester's School at Oxford; Christ's College, Cambridge (admitted 1645); Inner Temple (admitted 1644); Balliol College, Oxford (BA 1647); Incorporated at Cambridge (1647); MA (Cambridge 1649); Padua (MD 1660); Incorporated at Cambridge (1660) Career: English Consul at Padua and Syndic of the University; Professor of Anatomy at Pisa (1659-1665); Returned to England (1661); Minister to the Grand Duke of Tuscany (1665); Ambassador to Ottoman court in Constantinople (1672-1681); went on special mission to Adrianople (1675) Honours: Kt 1661 Memberships: Extra Fellow RCP (1661) Parents: Sir Heneage Finch and Frances Bell Siblings: Half-sister Anne Conway, Viscountess Conway and Killultagh Additional relatives: uncle of Daniel Finch (FRS 1668) In his role as correspondent for the Royal Society in Italy and Turkey, and as an English resident in Florence, Finch - known in Italy as Giovanni Fink - was involved in the significant literary and natural philosophers' circles of his time. He enjoyed a good reputation as an anatomist and performed dissections at the Arcispedale of Santa Maria Novella. Furthermore, he was a member of the circle of Prince Leopoldo de'Medici, who was a patron of the Accademia del Cimento and with whom he maintained correspondence. His main treatise survived him as a manuscript and show a refute of Descartes and Henry More, his tutor, in the areas of materialism and sense-based epistemology. Committee and panels: Mechanical Committee (1664); Nominated for the Committee to improve the English language (1664) Original Fellow 20/05/1663 Whilst in Italy and Turkey, Finch acted as the Royal Society correspondent in these areas; Tasked with enquiries into poisons while in Italy (1664) Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Venn; Foster; ODNB References: R E W Maddison, 'The Accompt of William Balle from 28 November 1660 to 11 September 1663' in NR 1959 vol 14 pp 174-183 T L Underwood, 'Quakers and the Royal Society of London in the Seventeenth Century' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 133-150 W E Knowles Middleton, 'Some Italian Visitors to the Early Royal Society' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 157-173 Susana Gomez Lopez, 'The Royal Society and Post-Galilean Science in Italy' in NR 1997 vol 51 pp 35-44 Notes: The election date is Finch's 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. 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 1626 - 18 Nov 1682 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 08/12/2021 as part of Name Authority Project update. NA8054 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 17/03/2026 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/13116680 da91603a-8d96-46b0-be78-73200df4407c