Person Hooke; Robert (1635 - 1703); natural philosopher Hooke Robert natural philosopher 1635 - 1703 British Male Freshwater, Isle of Wight, England, Europe 18 July 1635 16350718 Gresham College, London, England, Europe 3 March 1703 17030303 Burial: Church of St Helen, Bishopsgate Street, London, England, Europe

Gresham College, Bishopsgate Street, London (1665-1703)

Architect Physics Education: Pupil of Samuel Cooper and Sir Peter Lely; Westminster School; Christ Church, Oxford; MA (1663); MD (Lambeth 1691) Career: Assisted Thomas Willis and Robert Boyle with their experiments; invented the pendulum watch; Curator of Experiments at the Royal Society (1662); Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London (1664); Cutlerian Lecturer (1664); Philosophical assistant to John Wilkins and William Petty at Durdans, Epsom, Surrey (1665); Published 'Micrographia, or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses, with observations and inquiries thereupon' (1665); City Surveyor for London (1667); Doctor of Physic at Doctors' Commons (1691) Parents: Reverend John Hooke and Cecily Gyles Although the post of curator of experiments for the Royal Society was initially unpaid, a later arrangement for payment from the Society and from Sir John Cutler and Hooke's subsequent career made him indispensable to the Society's pursuits in natural philosophy. His most famous work, 'Micrographia' pushed the new field of microscopy into a wider public eye and includes a vast number of plates with detailed illustrations. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, Hooke proposed a grid-like plan for the rebuilding of the city. This was not accepted, however Hooke was appointed one of three official surveyors of the rebuilding, which secured years long income supply. After his death, his salary from this role, worth thousands of pounds, was found in an iron chest. In the 1670s, Hooke was embroiled in a dispute with Viscount William Brouncker (FRS 1660) and Henry Oldenburg (FRS 1663) regarding the invention and patent of a spring-regulated watch. Royal Society roles: Curator of Experiments 1662-1688; Secretary 1677-1682; On Council 1677-1681; 1684; 1686; 1689-1690; 1692-1695; 1697-1699; Editor Phil. Coll.: 1679-1682 Committee and panels: Mechanical Committee (1664) ; Astronomical and Optical Committee (1664) ; Anatomical Committee (1664) ; Committee for the Histories of Trades (1664) ; Committee for Collecting all the Phenomena of Nature hitherto observed (1664) ; Committee to audit Mr Colwall's accounts for the past year (1677) Original Fellow 20/05/1663 As Curator of Experiments, created a large variety of demonstrations and presentations for the meetings of the Society. These were mainly recorded in the Journal Book and the Register Book; Set up a 'select club' which met outside the Society's lodgings (1670s) Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Foster; Aubrey; Hunter; ODNB References: Charles H Cotter, 'The Mariner's Sextant and the Royal Society' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 23-36 D R Oldroyd, 'Some "Philosophicall Scribbles" Attributed to Robert Hooke' in NR 1980 vol 35 pp 17-32 D R Oldroyd, 'Some Writings of Robert Hooke on Procedures for the Prosecution of Scientific Inquiry, Including His "Lectures of Things Requisite to a Ntral History"' in NR 1986-87 vol 41 pp 145-167 Ian Adamson, 'The Royal Society and Gresham College 1660-1711' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 1-21 J A Bennett, 'Robert Hooke as Mechanic and Natural Philosopher' in NR 1980 vol 35 pp 33-48 J A Bennett, 'Wren's Last Building?' in NR 1972-3 vol 27 pp 107-118 J A Lohne, 'Experimentum Crucis' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 169-199 J Buchanan-Brown, 'The Books Presented to the Royal Society by John Aubrey, FRS' in NR 1973-4 vol 28 pp 167-193 Jeanne Bolam, 'The Botanical Works of Nehemiah Grew, FRS (1641-1712)' in NR 1972-3 vol 27 pp 219-231 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 Laurel Brodsley, Sir Charles Frank and John W Steeds, 'Prince Rupert's Drops' in NR 1986-87 vol 41 pp 1-26 Margaret J M Ezell, 'Richard Waller, SRS: "In the Pursuit of Nature"' in NR 1983-84 vol 38 pp 215-233 Marie Boas Hall, 'The Royal Society's Role in the Diffusion of Information in the Seventeenth Century' in NR 1974-5 vol 29 pp 173-192 Michael Hunter, 'A "College" for the Royal Society: The Abortive Plan of 1667-1668' in NR 1983-84 vol 38 pp 159-186 P D Lawrence and A G Molland, 'David Gregory's Inaugural Lecture at Oxford' in NR 1970 vol 25 pp 143-178 Penelope M Gouk, 'Acoustics in the Early Royal Society 1660-1680' in NR 1981-82 vol 36 pp 155-175 R Lewis, 'The publication of John Wilkins's Essay (1668): some contextual considerations' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp133-146 S Mandelbrote, 'From Bremen to Pall Mall. Henry Oldenburg. Shaping The Royal Society, by M B Hall' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 389-390 A Cook, '1703 and other anniversaries' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 1-2 Robert Iliffe 'Material doubts: Hooke, artisan cultureand the exchange of information in 1670's London' in British Journal of the History of Science vol 28 pp 285-318 J Heyman, 'The birth of the modern architect. On a grander scale: the outstanding career of Sir Christopher Wren, by L Jardine' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 243-244 Stephen Inwood 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'. Macmillan 2002 Lisa Jardine 'On a Grander Scale; the outstanding career of Sir Christopher Wren'. Harper Collins 2002 Lisa Jardine 'The Curious Life of Robert Hooke; The Man Who Measured London' Harper Collins, 2003 Michael Cooper 'A more beautiful city; Robert Hooke and the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire' Sutton Publishing 2003 Cooper, Michael, ed; Hunter, Michael. ed. 'Hooke 2003: Papers presented at a conference to mark the tercentenary of the death of Robert Hooke 1635-1703'. Conference held at the Royal Society 7-8 July 2003. Jim Bennett; Michael Cooper; Lisa Jardine 'London's Leonardo: the Life and Work of Robert Hooke'. Oxford Uuniversity Press 2003 P Breeze, 'The ancestry of Robert Hooke: John Hooke of Wroxhall' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 269-271 M Hunter, 'Report. Robert Hooke revivified' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 89-91 A Cook, 'Report. Robert Hooke at Christ Church, Oxford' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 93-95 A Cook, 'Rome and the Royal Society, 1660-1740' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 3-19 L Jardine, 'The 2003 Wilkins Lecture: Dr Wilkins's boy wonders' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 107-129 H Gest, 'The Discovery of Microorganisms by Robert Hooke and Antoni von Leeuwenhoek, Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 187-201 P Fara, 'Theatrical Science. C Djerassi and D Pinner, Newton's darkness: two dramatic views' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 237-238 T Quinn, 'In this issue' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 245 - 247 J Friesen, 'Essay review. Robert Hooke under the microscope' in in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 299 - 302 J Friesen, 'Hooke and seventeenth century science. 'England's Leonardo. Robert Hooke and the seventeenth century Scientific Revolution' by Allan Chapman' in NR 2005 vol 59 pp 205-206 J Gribbin, 'The Fellowship', 2005, pp147-154, 183-225 R M May, 'Address by Lord May PRS, given at the dedication of the memorial to Dr Robert Hooke at Westminster Abbey on 3 March 2005' in NR 2005 pp 321-324 T Quinn, 'The Palace of Westminster frescoes, Kelvin's secretary and the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine', in NR 2006 vol 60 pp 135-137 T Quinn, 'The Hooke folio', in NR 2006 vol 60 pp 231-233 R Adams and L Jardine, 'The return of the Hooke folio', in NR 2006 vol 60 pp 235-239 F Henderson, 'Unpublished material from the memorandum book of Robert Hooke, Guildhall Library MS 1758' in NR 2007 vol 61 pp 129-175 A Mills, 'Robert Hooke's 'Universal joint' and its application to sundials and the sundial-clock' in NR 2007 vol 61 pp 219-236 W Poole 'Antoine Frqancois Payen, the 1666 "Selenelion" and a rediscovered letter to Robert Hooke' NR 2007 Vol 61 pp 251-264 W Ramsey, P Daniels, E G Ramsey, 'The Limehouse Porcelain Factory - its output, antecedents, and the influence of the Royal Society of London on the evolution of English porcelain based on composition and technology. ' Published Inverscafgill, New Zealand, January 2013 I Lawon 'Crafting the Microworld: how Robert Hooke constructed knowledge about small things' in N&R Vol 70 Issue 1 March 2016, pp 23 - 44 Henderson, F. (2024) 'Robert Hooke's experimental philosophy' (Reaktion Books) Notes: The election date is Hooke'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. He was later elected on 3 June 1663. DSB gives death date as 3 March 1702. ©Zo Schieppati-Emery 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: 31018 RCN: 45230 RCN: 45229 RCN: 47803 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH4243 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-13619 18 Jul 1635 - 3 Mar 1703 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 04/02/2022 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA8242 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 18/12/2024 RS_NET\rupert Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/32063971 5b86b15e-e890-4bfd-be25-f74e76a8521e