Person Merrett; Christopher (? 1614 - 1695); physician and writer on natural philosophy Merrett Christopher physician and writer on natural philosophy Merret ? 1614 - 1695 British Male Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England, Europe 16 February 1614 16140216 Hatton Garden, London, England, Europe 19 August 1695 16950819 Burial: St Andrew's Church, Holborn, London, England, Europe

Amen Corner, London (1654-1665) Hatton Garden, London (-1695)

Physician Natural history Botany Glassmaking Education: Gloucester Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1632; BMed 1636, DMed 1643); Oriel College, Oxford (BA 1635) Career: Practised in London (1640-); Goulstonian lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians (1654); Keeper of library and museum at RCP (1654-1665); compiled first catalogue for the College (1660); Translated and expanded Antonio Neri's 'L'arte vertraria' [The Art of Glass] (1662); produced a new catalogue of British fauna, flora, and fossils (1667); published 'A Short View of the Frauds and Abuses Committed by Apothecaries' (1669) Memberships: FRCP (1651-1681) Parents: Christopher Merrett Married: Ann Jenour [or Jenner] Children: at least two son Merrett's professional life was heavily affected by the plague and the great fire in 1666. During the latter, the college house was destroyed and a majority of its library and records were lost. Under pressure, Merrett had to secure documentary evidence of the College's right to control medical practice in London. He was unsuccessful in shifting physicians towards new empiricism and his post of Keeper of the Library and Museum was decided to be useless after the fire. He appealed this decision twice but was further expelled as a Fellow from the College, four years before his ejection from the Society. His translation of 'The Art of Glass' reportedly spurred a continent-wide interest in glassmaking. He is furthermore credited with the discovery of a second fermentation of wine in order to make it sparkling, presented within a paper to the Royal Society in 1662. Royal Society roles: Sworn in Anniversary Day 1663 Committee and panels: Committee for Agriculture (1664); Chairman of committee on history of trades; Committee to extract [John] Evelyn's papers (1662) Ejected due to non-payment 22 July 1685 Original Fellow 20/05/1663 22 July 1685 Involved in botanical and natural history experiments (e.g. ingesting plants brought back by an emissary employed to collect specimens); Collated lists of chirurgical instruments for operations intended by the Society on dead bodies. Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Foster; ODNB Authority: OtherFormsOfName from DNB References: Albert J Koinm, 'Christopher Merret's use of experiment' in NR 2000 vol 54 pp 23-32 Kathleen H Ochs, 'The Royal Society of London's History of Trades Programme: An Early Episode in Applied Science' in NR 1984-85 vol 39 pp 129-158 A Rupert Hall and Marie Boas Hall, 'The Intellectual Origins of the Royal Society - London and Oxford' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 157-168 E N da C Andrade, 'The Birth and Early Days of the Philosophical Transactions' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 9-27 W H G Armytage, 'The Royal Society and the Apothecaries' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 22-37 G H Turnbull, 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 101-130 A C S, 'Notes on the Foundation and History of the Royal Society' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 32-36 Notes: The election date is Merrett'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 mentioned as a member on 2 January 1661. Hunter gives birth date as 1615; 1614 possibly Old Style. 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 RCN: 49232 RCN: 49234 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH5812 16 Feb 1614 or 1615 - 19 Aug 1695 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 22/11/2021 as part of Name Authority Project update. NA8074 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 14/01/2026 RS_NET\VidaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/51905610 c902e5d9-ba9e-465c-85c4-819f992b2b2f