Person Brereton; William (1631 - 1680); 3rd Baron Brereton; politician and natural philosopher Brereton William politician and natural philosopher 1631 - 1680 British Male Brereton, Cheshire, England, Europe c. April 1631 16310000 Westminster, London, England, Europe 17 March 1680 16800317 Baptism: Brereton, Cheshire, England, Europe (4 May 1631) Burial: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, London, England, Europe (19 March 1680)

Dean's Yard, Westminster; Brereton Hall, Cheshire

Politician Education: Breda Academy (1646-1652) under John Pell (FRS 1663) Career: MP for Newton (1659); MP for Bossiney (1660); Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission (1667-1670); Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (1673-1680) Parents: William Brereton, second Baron Brereton, and Lady Elizabeth Goring (d. 1687) Married: Frances Willoughby, daughter of 5th Baron Willoughby Children: John Brereton (1659-1718); Francis Brereton (d.1722); one more son The Brereton family were royalists and were taken prisoner when the Parliamentary forces captured Biddulph House in Staffordshire in 1644. The Brereton family name died out upon the death of his youngest son Francis in 1722. William Brereton was well regarded in literary and scientific circles, and had been a companion of Thomas Hobbes and Sir Charles Cavendish while abroad. Brereton briefly shifted into a more promiment role in the public eye as Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission or Brooke House Committee, which inquired into the failures of the Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Having been pit against Samuel Pepys, the Committee yielded no lasting results. Through marriage, Brereton was associated with his father-in-law William Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham, who was governor of Barbados from 1650 until his death in a shipwreck in 1666. Royal Society roles: Sworn in on 10 June 1663; 1667-1679; 1671 Committee and panels: Committee for Agriculture [Georgics]; Mechanical Committee Original Fellow 22/04/1663 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; GEC; Aubrey; Henning; ODNB References: Michael Hunter, 'The Social Bias and Changing Fortunes of an Early Scientific Institution: An Analysis of the Membership of the Royal Society, 1660-1685' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 9-114 Michael Hunter, 'The Royal Society and its Fellows, 1660-1700: the morphology of an early scientific institution 1982 G H Turnbull, 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 101-130 Notes: The election date is Brereton'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 18 December 1661. 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 c 1631 - 17 Mar 1680 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 08/11/2021 as part of Name Authority Project update. NA8143 21/11/2001 Andyg pmab 28/03/2023 RS_NET\JonathanB Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/7341469 7ef512f5-c4f2-4a1a-acb4-63bd3728eacd