| Authorised form of name | Boyle; Robert (1627 - 1691); natural philosopher and chemist |
| Dates | 1627 - 1691 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Lismore Castle, Munster, Ireland, Europe |
| Date of birth | 25 January 1627 |
| Place of death | London, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 30 December 1691 |
| Dates and places | Burial:
St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, London, England, Europe (7 January 1692) |
| Research field | Natural philosophy |
| Physics |
| Chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Eton College (1635-1638)
Career:
Travelled to Geneva with his tutor Marcombes, and his brother Francis (1638-1640), and to Italy (1641-1642); returned to Geneva; moved back to London (1644), then to the manor of Stallbridge, Dorset (1645) inherited on the death of his father; worked on 'Aretology' (1645-46); took part in the 'Invisible College' (1646-47); set up a laboratory at Stalbridge (1649); published 'Some Considerations Touching the Style of the Holy Scriptures' (1661); visited his Irish estates (1652-1653), where with the help of Sir William Petty FRS he engaged in anatomical dissection; published 'Certain Physiological Essays' (1661); 'The Sceptical Chymist' (1661); while at Oxford wrote the bulk of 'Some Considerations Touching the Usefulness of Experimental Natural Philosophy (1663, 1671); member of the Council of Foreign Plantations (1661-1664); Governor of the Corporation for the Spread of the Gospel in new England (1662-1689); governor of the New England Company; paid for the translation of the Bible into Arabic and several other languages (1685-1686); Director of the Honorable East India Company
Honours:
Doctor of Physic (Oxford, 1665)
Lectures:
Boyle Lectures |
| Membership category | Founder Fellow |
| Date of election | 28/11/1660 |
| Age at election | 33 |
| Royal Society activity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1660; declined Presidency of the Royal Society (1680)
Committee and panels:
Committee to consider of Mr Buckland's proposition to plant potatoes through all the parts of England (1662); Committee for Agriculture (c. 1664) |
| Relationships | Parents: Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork, and Catherine Fenton
Siblings: thirteen surviving, incl. Richard Boyle, first Earl of Burlington and second Earl of Cork; Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh; Roger Boyle, first Earl of Orrery; Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick
Additional relatives: nephews Richard Boyle (FRS 1663); Charles Boyle (FRS 1685); Viscount Dungarvan (FRS 1664); Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (FRS 1663) |
| General context | One of the most well-known elements of Boyle's legacy stems from a conflict with Thomas Hobbes, who had written critical works on his book 'New Experiments ... Touching the Spring of the Air'. Boyle's detailed elaboration on his views in 'A Defence of the Doctrine, Touching the Spring and Weight in the Air, later became known as Boyle's law, which states the inverse nature of the quantitative relationship between the volume and pressure of a gas. Throughout his life time, Boyle published a variety of both philosophical and theological writings and treatises, some of which were deemed controversial due to their attacking contemporary writers and philosophers.
Much of the Boyle family wealth originated from the Irish plantations of the Tudor period - the seizure of property from Irish landwoners and its resettlement with English colonisers - in which Robert Boyle's father, Richard Boyle, had an instrumental administrative, practical and political role, supressing uprisings in protest to the colonisation and amassing enormous personal wealth and personal landholdings in Ireland, which he settled with English labourers. Richard Boyle was raised to the Irish peerage and eventually attained the position of Lord Treasurer of Ireland. The inheritance of part of his father's estates allowed Boyle to practice natural philosophy as a wealthy gentleman.
Robert Boyle was an investor in the East India Company and the Hudson Bay Company. The Honorable East India Company (HEIC) was an English and later British company formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region. The company ended up seizing control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent (and briefly Afghanistan) and colonised parts of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. Originally chartered as the Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies, by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, the East India Company rose to account for half of the world's trade, thereby amassing vast wealth, influence and private armies. The East India company enslaved people and exploited them for labour across their territories from 1621 until abolition of slavery in India in 1843. The company ruled large areas of India with its private armies, exercising military power and seizing administrative functions from local rulers from around 1757 until the British Raj which replaced HEIC control with direct colonial rule of India by the British Government in 1858. Under the HEIC and later colonial governance the British systematically oppressed indigenous people and exploited natural resources of colonised regions for commercial gain. The Company was dissolved in 1874. The Royal Society owned shares in the HEIC from 1682-1699 and many of its Fellows, such as Boyle had positions or financial interests in the Company.
Charles II granted the charter establishing the Hudson's Bay Company, officially "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay," on May 2, 1670. The charter aimed to establish a trade monopoly on the Eastern coast of what is now Canada and claimed 1.5 million square kilometres of land inhabited by Inuit and First Nations communities (everything in the Hudson river network of waterways), this grew to eight million square kilometres which was dubbed Rupert's Land. The 'adventurers' and traders employed by the HBC did the work of colonizing and nation-building, such as mapping British Columbia's interior and charting the Arctic coast, almost always with the help of Indigenous guides. The Company's aim was territorial expansion and geographical knowledge as well as resource extraction. The company depended on Indigenous hunters to bring them the furs they sold in Europe and made the Company shareholders very wealthy. This trading relationship was often cordial and mutually beneficial but introduced and advanced the spread of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis, to which Indigenous Peoples had no immunity. Attitudes toward Indigenous Peoples grew more disdainful by the mid-1800s, as HBC officials became more comfortable in the region and relied less on Indigenous knowledge. In 1868, the Rupert's Land Act was passed, an agreement to transfer the region from the HBC to the recently confederated states of Canada disregarding the Indigenous Nations' ownership of the land and their resistance to its transfer to a colonial power. The HBC continued to operate as a commercial company and operated some 100 stores in Indigenous communities into the 20th century, setting low prices for furs and high prices for their goods, a process that kept Indigenous consumers in a perpetual state of debt. The HBC remains a transnational company.
As a member of the Council for Foreign Plantations, within the Board of Trade government body, Boyle worked to further the government's colonial interest. In his post, he made £500 quarterly. The Council's orders and tasks fell within a broad remit and included finding ways in which to take and enslave people to bring to the colonies, mediating between the Royal African Company and the colonies, as well as enforcing the 'reeducation' of Native Americans and enslaved people in the colonised regions. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Image | 
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| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB; Foster; Aubrey
References:
W H G Armytage, 'The Royal Society and the Apothecaries' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 22-37
Sir Irvine Masson and A J Youngson, 'Sir William Petty, FRS (1623-1687)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 79-90
Robert Birley, 'Robert Boyle's Head Master at Eton' in NR 1958 vol 13 pp 104-114
Robert Birley, 'Robert Boyle at Eton' in NR 1959 vol 14 p 191
Richard A Hunter and Ida Macalpine, 'William Harvey and Robert Boyle' in NR 1958 vol 13 pp 115-127
R K Bluhm, 'A Guide to the Archives of the Royal Society and to other Manuscripts in its Possession' in NR 1956-57 vol 12 pp 21-39
R E W Maddison, 'Studies in the Life of Robert Boyle, FRS. Part V. Boyle's Operator: Ambrose Godfrey Hanckwitz, FRS' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 159-188
R E W Maddison, 'Studies in the Life of Robert Boyle, FRS. Part IV. Robert Boyle and Some of his Foreign Visitors' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp 38-53
R E W Maddison, 'Studies in the Life of Robert Boyle, FRS. Part III. The Charitable Disposal of Robert Boyle's Residuary Estate' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 15-27
R E W Maddison, 'A Tentative Index of the Correspondence of the Honourable Robert Boyle, FRS' in NR 1958 vol 13 pp 128-201
R K Bluhm, 'Henry Oldenburg, FRS (c. 1615-1677)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 183-197
R E W Maddison, 'Studies in the Life of Robert Boyle, FRS. Part VII. The Grand Tour' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 51-77
R E W Maddison, 'Studies in the Life of Robert Boyle, FRS. Part VI. The Stalbridge Period, 1645-1655, and the Invisible College' in NR 1963 vol 18 pp 104-124
Marie Boas Hall, 'What Happened to the Latin Edition of Boyle's History of Cold?' in NR 1962 vol 17 pp 32-35
Marie Boas Hall, 'Henry Miles, FRS (1698-1763) and Thomas Birch, FRS (1705-66)' in NR 1963 vol 18 pp 39-44
Margaret Deacon, 'Founders of Marine Science in Britain: the Work of the Early Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 28-50
L M Payne, Leonard G Wilson and Sir Harold Hartley, 'William Croone, FRS (1633-1684)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 211-219
Kenneth Dewhurst, 'Locke's Contribution to Boyle's Researches on the Air and on Human Blood' in NR 1962 vol 17 pp 198-206
John F Fulton, 'The Honourable Robert Boyle, FRS (1627-1692)' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 119-135, plate
J A Lohne, 'Isaac Newton: the Rise of a Scientist 1661-1671' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 125-139
H A Feisenberger, 'The Libraries of Newton, Hooke and Boyle' in NR 1966 vol 21 pp 42-55
G H Turnbull, 'Samuel Hartlib's Influence on the Early History of the Royal Society' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 101-130
E N da C Andrade, 'The Birth and Early Days of the Philosophical Transactions' in NR 1965 vol 20 pp 9-27
Douglas McKie, 'The Origins and Foundation of the Royal Society of London' in NR 1960 vol 15 pp 1-37
A D Atkinson, 'The Royal Society and English Vocabulary' in NR 1956-57 vol 12 pp 40-43
A Rupert Hall and Marie Boas Hall, 'Some Hitherto Unknown Facts about the Private Career of Henry Oldenburg
A Rupert Hall and Marie Boas Hall, 'Further Notes on Henry Oldenburg' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 33-42
C S S, 'The Society's Library' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 21-27
A C S, 'Notes on the Foundation and History of the Royal Society' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 32-36
John Hedley Brooke, 'Wise men nowadays think otherwise': John Ray, natural theology and the meanings of anthropocentrism' in NR 2000 vol 54 pp 199-213
Marco Beretta, 'At the source of Western science: the organization of experimentalism at the Accadmeia del Cimento (1657-1667)' in NR 2000 vol 54 pp 131-151
Quentin Bone, 'Favourite or Outsider?', review of George Bartle, An Old Radical and his Brood and Joyce Youings, ed, Sir John Bowring, 1792-1872: Aspects of his Life and Career in NR 1996 vol 50 pp 142-144, plate
Colin A Russell, 'The Secret Alchemist', review of L M Principe, The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and his Alchemical Quest in NR 1999 vol 53 pp 371-372
Guy Meynell, 'Locke, Boyle and Peter Stahl' in NR 1995 vol 49 pp 185-192
Iordan Avramov, 'An Apprenticeship in Scientific Communication: the Early Correspondence of Henry Oldenburg (1656-63)' in NR 1999 vol 53 pp 187-201
Lawrence M Principe, 'Newly Discovered Boyle Documents in the Royal Society Archive: Alchemical Tracts and his Student Notebook' in NR 1995 vol 49 pp 57-70
Marie Boas Hall, 'Boyle Anatomized', review of Michael Hunter, ed, Robert Boyle by Himself and his Friends with a Fragment of William Wotton's Lost "Life of Boyle" in NR 1995 vol 49 pp 334-335, plate
Sir Alan Cook, 'Ladies in the Scientific Revolution' in NR 1997 vol 51 pp 1-12
Marie Boas Hall, 'Frederick Slare, FRS (1648-1727)' in NR 1992 vol 46 pp 23-41
Simon Schaffer, 'The Glorious Revolution and Medicine in Britain and the Netherlands' in NR 1989 vol 43 pp 167-190
Stephen F Mason, 'A Theosophical Boyle?', review of Michael Hunter, ed, Robert Boyle Reconsidered in NR 1994 vol 48 pp 317-319, plate
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
Marie Boas Hall, 'Boyle's Method of Work: Promoting His Corpuscular Philosophy' in NR 1986-87 vol 41 pp 111-143
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
P M Rattansi, 'The Intellectual Origins of the Royal Society' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 129-143
Penelope M Gouk, 'Acoustics in the Early Royal Society 1660-1680' in NR 1981-82 vol 36 pp 155-175
Robert G Frank, Jr, 'John Aubrey, FRS, John Lydall, and Science at Commonwealth Oxford' in NR 1972-3 vol 27 pp 193-217
W E Knowles Middleton, 'Some Italian Visitors to the Early Royal Society' in NR 1978-9 vol 33 pp 157-173
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
N J W Thrower, 'Samuel Pepys FRS (1633-1733) and The Royal Society' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 3-13
W Hayes, 'Physics as well as poetry. Physicists of Ireland, edited by M McCartney and A Whitaker' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 245-246
J H Appleby, 'The founding of St Petersburg in the context of the Royal Society's relationship with Russia' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 273-284
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
J S Rowlinson, 'Displacing Phlogiston. Robert Siegfried, From elements to atoms: a history of chemical composition' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 242-243
M Hunter, 'Report. Robert Boyle for the 21st Century' in NR 2005 vol 59 pp 87-90
J Gribbin, 'The Fellowship', 2005, pp141-147
A M Roos 'Hunting Robert Boyle: Michael Hunter and Boyle's life and letters ' - Essay review of 'Boyle: etween God and science' 2009, Yale University Press. In NR 2011 vol 65 pp 311-315
D T Burns ' Previously unrecorded Dutch citations and versions of some of the scientific publications of Robert Boyle FRS' NR 2011 vol 65 pp 295-300
Notes:
See also: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/boyle |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/51698379 |
| Royal Society code | NA8137 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| IM/000505 | Boyle, Robert | 2001 |
| RBC/1/25 | 'An Experimentall Account of the Compression of Aire Made by Mr Boyle' | 2 October 1661 |
| EL/OB/134 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 2 September 1671 |
| IM/000497 | Boyle, Robert | 2001 |
| MS/41 | A commonplace book of medical or pharmaceutical recipes | |
| EL/B1/23 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 23 February 1663 |
| MM/1/15 | Letter from Francis Boyle, Viscount Shannon, Shannon Park, to Robert Boyle | 23 March 1692 |
| RBO/6/119 | 'Account of great haile fallen in France' by Robert Boyle | nd |
| IM/000495 | Boyle, Robert | 2002 |
| EL/OB/95 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at Crayfort in Kent | 19 September 1676 |
| RBC/1/1 | 'Questions Propounded by Lord Brouncker and Mr Boyle and agreed upon to be sent to Tenariffe' | 2 January 1660 |
| RBC/2/85 | 'Tryals proposed by Robert Boyle to Dr Lower to be made by him, for the Improvement of the Experiment of Transfusing blood out of one live Animal into another' | 1666 |
| IM/005463 | Boyle, Robert | March 2000 |
| RBO/2ii/61 | 'To prevent the Rott in Sheep' by Robert Boyle | 14 October 1663 |
| RBC/2/34 | Observations of Mr Clayton's Diamond by Robert Boyle | 1663 |
| IM/005533 | Boyle, Robert | nd |
| RBC/2/31 | 'To Prevent the Rott in Sheep' by Robert Boyle | 14 October 1663 |
| RBO/4/35 | 'The Phaenomena of an Experiment about Freezing' brought in by Robert Boyle | 1671 |
| RBO/4/54 | 'Experimental Notes of the Mechanical Origine or Production of Fixtness' by Robert Boyle | 1674 |
| IM/005359 | Boyle, Robert | nd |
| RBO/4/43 | 'Some Observations about Shining Flesh' by Robert Boyle | 1672 |
| DM/5/73E | 'Experiments and Matters recommended to Mr William Balle' | 1664 |
| IM/005403 | Boyle, Robert | 1992 |
| IM/005354 | Boyle, Robert | 1994 |
| IM/000501 | Boyle, Robert | 1991 |
| P/0011 | Portrait of Boyle, Robert | |
| IM/000502 | Boyle, Robert | nd |
| IM/000496 | Boyle, Robert | 2001 |
| IM/000500 | Boyle, Robert | 2000 |
| IM/005534 | Boyle, Robert | nd |
| IM/000499 | Boyle, Robert | nd |
| IM/000504 | Robert Boyle's School, Yetminster, wall plaque | 1989 |
| NLB/1/488 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Mr Dyer, 8 Orchard Street, Portman Square | 30 June 1887 |
| NLB/6/539 | Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Sir Henry Wentworth Dyke Acland, Fellow of the Royal Society | 30 May 1892 |
| MS/23 | A catalogue of books in the library of Robert Boyle and some theological notes | 17th century |
| CLP/13/2/4 | Drawing, ventral view of autopsy of conjoined twins by [William Hann] | [1664] |
| MS/390/21 | Bond of Robert Boyle to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 25 November 1674 |
| NLB/57/723 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Messrs Constable & Co Ltd; 10 Orange Street, WC 2 | 28 January 1920 |
| MS/366/3/3 | Mr Boyle's experiments (with air pump) | 1660s |
| MS/25 | Medical Notebooks of Robert Boyle | 17th century |
| EL/O1/27a | Note on experiments with lodestones by Henry Oldenburg | 24 April 1666 |
| EL/OB/138 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 31 December 1673 |
| NLB/62/311 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to C. J. Thompson Esquire; 54A Wigmore Street, W.l. | 20 January 1922 |
| NLB/67/605 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to [John Farquhar] Fulton Esq.; Bradmore Road, Oxford | 26 January 1925 |
| NLB/70/189 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to the Reverend the Vicar of St Martins in the Fields, W.C.2. | 27 January 1927 |
| EL/B1/83 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 14 June 1665 |
| CLP/21/10 | Paper, Account of two of Robert Boyle's books on nature by Edmund Halley | 1686 |
| CLP/9i/11 | Paper, observations of Mr Clayton's diamond by Robert Boyle | 1663 |
| CLP/24/70 | Account, 'An account of Mr. [Robert] Boyle's experiments on air' by Henry Oldenburg | 30 April 1669 |
| CLP/4i/48/2 | Drawing, great hail fallen in France communicated by Robert Boyle | 1686 |
| RBO/3/38 | 'General Heads for making the Natural History of a Country' by Robert Boyle | 9 May 1666 |
| CLP/11i/30 | Paper, 'The qualifications necessary to make a body volatile taken out of Mr [Robert] Boyle's mechanical origine of volatility' by Dr [Frederick] Slare | [1680s] |
| EL/OB/97 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 4 October 1661 |
| EL/B1/91 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 24 September 1665 |
| RBC/2/79 | 'A New Frigorifick Experiment shewing How a considerable Degree of Cold may be suddenly produced without the help of Snow, Ice, Haile Wind or Nitre; And that at any time of the year brought in by Mr Boyle' | 1666 |
| DM/5/60 | Minute of a meeting of a Committee to be appointed 'to consider of Mr Buckland's proposition to plant potatoes through all the parts of England' | 20 March 1662 |
| DM/5/101 | A list of benefactors to the Museum, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
| EL/OB/108 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | December 1663 |
| EL/OB/4 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at Saumur | 29 March 1658 |
| EL/OB/98 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 23 February 1662 |
| IM/005313 | Boyle, Robert | 2000 |
| IM/000493 | Boyle, Robert | nd |
| RBC/2/77 | 'Generall heads For making the Naturall History of a Country' by Robert Boyle | nd |
| MS/40 | A commonplace book of theology | |
| DM/5/100 | A list of benefactors to the Library, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
| IM/000498 | Boyle, Robert | 1892 |
| NLB/6/479 | Copy letter from Michael Foster, to the Honorable Secretary, Oxford University Junior Scientific Club | 19 May 1892 |
| EL/OB/48 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | 6 March 1666 |
| EL/B1/97 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 4 November 1665 |
| DM/5/64 | Minutes of meetings of the Committee for Agriculture (endorsed as 'Transactions of the Georgicall Committee') | October 1664-February 1665 |
| RBO/3/68 | 'Some New Experiments about Light and Air: Tryed by Robert Boyle' | 29 October 1667 |
| EL/OB/102 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 29 September 1663 |
| EL/OB/111 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 18 January 1663 |
| RBC/2/81 | 'A Description of a method of Transfusing the blood of one Animal into another contriv'd and used by Dr Lower of Oxon as it was communicated in his letter to Mr Boyle' | 1666 |
| RB | The Robert Boyle Collection | 17th century |
| IM/000494 | Boyle, Robert | 2002 |
| IM/000503 | Quartet engraving | nd |
| IM/005355 | Boyle, Robert | 1994 |
| CLP/15i/27 | Paper, 'A conjecture concerning bladders of air that are found in fishes' by A I | May 1675 |
| MS/44 | Commonplace book mainly of arithmetic | 17th Century |
| CLP/13/2/3 | Drawing, dorsal view of conjoined twins by [William Hann] | [1664] |
| CLP/20/69 | Paper, Abstract of Mr. [Robert] Boyle's treatise of languid motions by Robert Hooke | 17 February 1686 |
| CLP/11i/31 | Paper, 'An historical account of a strangely self-moving liquor' by [Robert] Boyle | [1685] |
| RBO/3/40 | 'A New Frigorifick Experiments shewing How a considerable degree of Cold may be suddenly produced without the help of Snow, Ice, Haile, Wind or Nitre: And that at any time of the year' by Robert Boyle | 1666 |
| EL/OB/122 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 28 August 1666 |
| EL/OB/117 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 9 November 1665 |
| EL/OB/123 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 7 May 1666 |
| EL/OB/121 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 18 April 1666 |
| EL/OB/145 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 8 July 1682 |
| EL/OB/27 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 26 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/106 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 9 November 1663 |
| EL/OB/136 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 27 November 1671 |
| EL/B1/79 | Extract of a letter, from unknown author, to Robert Boyle | 1663 |
| EL/OB/131 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | January 1666 |
| EL/OB/141 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 16 February 1680 |
| EL/A/13 | Translated extract of a letter, from Adrian Auzout to Henry Oldenburg | 1666 |
| CLP/13/2 | Paper, 'Descriptio monstri nati apud Fisherton October 26 1664' by Mr Hand [William Hann] and Roger Baskett | 7 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/109 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 14 December 1663 |
| EL/OB/114 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 27 May 1665 |
| EL/B1/84 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 20 June 1665 |
| EL/B1/55 | Copy of a letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 12 October 1670 |
| CLP/15i/9 | Paper, 'How to prevent rot in sheep' by Robert Boyle | 14 October 1663 |
| CLP/13/2/2 | Drawing, ventral view of conjoined twins by [William Hann] | [1664] |
| EL/OB/129 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 7 January 1666 |
| EL/OB/119 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 6 February 1665 |
| EL/OB/116 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 11 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/99 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 25 February 1663 |
| EL/OB/112 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 21 January 1663 |
| EL/B1/90 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 18 September 1665 |
| EL/B1/88 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 12 August 1665 |
| EL/OB/130 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 24 January 1666 |
| EL/A/33 | Minutes of the Dublin Philosophical Society, sent by St George Ashe, dated at Trinity College Dublin | 24 November 1685 |
| EL/OB/132 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 28 January 1666 |
| CLP/4i/15 | Paper, 'A new frigorificke experiment by Robert Boyle showing how a considerable degree of cold may be suddainly produced with out the help of snow, ice, haile, wind, or nitre, and that at any time of the year' by M Boyle | 1666 |
| EL/B1/80 | Paper, 'Imperfect paper of Mr Boyle' by Robert Boyle | nd |
| EL/OB/125 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 30 July 1666 |
| EL/OB/103 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 2 October 1663 |
| CLP/4i/20 | Paper, 'Some new experiments about light and aire' by Robert Boyle | 1667 |
| CLP/12i/7 | Paper, ['The method observed in transfusing the bloud out of one live animal into another'] by [Richard Lower] | [1666] |
| EL/OB/100 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 25 February 1663 |
| EL/OB/115 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 7 September 1665 |
| EL/OB/126 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 10 August 1666 |
| EL/OB/144 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 1 July 1682 |
| EL/OB/105 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 9 November 1663 |
| EL/OB/110 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 11 January 1663 |
| EL/B1/95 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Oxford | 22 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/3 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | nd |
| EL/T/7 | Letter, from David Thomas to Robert Boyle, dated at St Mary Blandford | 30 January 1664 |
| EL/B1/96 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 28 October 1665 |
| EL/B1/93 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 14 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/90 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 7 April 1668 |
| EL/OB/124 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 13 July 1666 |
| EL/B1/101 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 23 December 1665 |
| EL/B1/99 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 18 November 1665 |
| EL/OB/93 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 July 1674 |
| EL/OB/75 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 31 December 1667 |
| EL/OB/118 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 6 February 1665 |
| EL/B1/24 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 25 February 1663 |
| EL/OB/107 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 21 November 1663 |
| EL/OB/113 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 25 April 1664 |
| EL/OB/101 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 28 September 1663 |
| EL/OB/137 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 26 October 1672 |
| EL/B1/98 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 11 November 1665 |
| EL/OB/91 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | 14 April 1668 |
| EL/OB/120 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 31 March 1666 |
| EL/OB/128 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 31 October 1666 |
| EL/OB/72 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 December 1667 |
| EL/OB/85 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 17 March 1667 |
| EL/OB/6 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at Paris | 20 March 1660 |
| EL/OB/52 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | March 1666 |
| EL/OB/62 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 12 September 1667 |
| EL/OB/35 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 18 September 1665 |
| EL/OB/53 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 8 June 1666 |
| EL/OB/51 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | 24 March 1666 |
| EL/OB/30 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | June 1665 |
| EL/OB/61 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 3 September 1667 |
| EL/OB/67 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 15 October 1667 |
| EL/OB/42 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 5 December 1665 |
| EL/OB/19 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 22 October 1664 |
| EL/OB/60 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 15 November 1666 |
| EL/OB/25 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 19 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/68 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/43 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 19 December 1665 |
| EL/B1/89 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 27 August 1665 |
| EL/OB/135 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 13 November 1671 |
| EL/OB/16 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | nd |
| EL/OB/9 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 2 July 1663 |
| EL/OB/1 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at Oxford | 15 April 1657 |
| EL/OB/37 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 5 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/29 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 December 1664 |
| EL/OB/22 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 5 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/28 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 3 December 1664 |
| EL/B1/81 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 29 October 1663 |
| EL/OB/33 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 August 1665 |
| EL/OB/8 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 22 June 1663 |
| EL/OB/64 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 September 1667 |
| EL/O1/4 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg , dated at London | 29 October 1663 |
| EL/OB/32 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 August 1665 |
| EL/OB/87 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 March 1667 |
| EL/OB/34 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 29 August 1665 |
| EL/OB/39 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 17 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/92 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 27 July 1668 |
| CLP/4i/48 | Paper, 'Account of great haile fallen in France' by Robert Boyle | 1686 |
| EL/OB/139 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 29 November 1676 |
| EL/OB/143 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 26 June 1682 |
| EL/OB/46 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 27 January 1666 |
| EL/OB/69 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 12 November 1667 |
| EL/OB/20 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 27 October 1664 |
| EL/OB/80 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 11 February 1667 |
| EL/OB/36 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 28 September 1665 |
| EL/OB/79 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 4 February 1668 |
| EL/OB/50 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 17 March 1666 |
| EL/OB/63 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 17 September 1667 |
| EL/OB/142 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 2 March 1680 |
| EL/OB/2 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at Saumur | 8 September 1657 |
| EL/OB/18 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 20 October 1664 |
| EL/OB/59 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 23 October 1666 |
| EL/OB/49 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 13 March 1666 |
| EL/OB/55 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 18 September 1666 |
| EL/OB/23 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/17 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 13 October 1664 |
| EL/OB/56 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 25 September 1666 |
| EL/OB/65 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 1 October 1667 |
| EL/OB/58 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 16 October 1666 |
| RBO/2i/77 | 'Observations made 27th October 1663 about Mr Clayton's Diamond' by Robert Boyle | 1663 |
| CLP/13/2/1 | Manuscript, 'Descriptio monstri nati apud Fisherton October 26 1664' by Mr Hand [William Hann] and Roger Baskett | 7 November 1664 |
| CLP/4i/21 | Paper, 'A new experiment on the effect of the varying weight of the atmosphere on some bodies in the water' by Robert Boyle | 1671 |
| CLP/22i/38 | Paper, Account of 'Medicina hydrostatica or hydrostaticks applied to the materia medica shewing how by the weight that divers dodies used in physick have in water, one may discover whether they be genuine or adulterate' by Robert Boyle | 4 February 1690 |
| CLP/15i/27/1 | Manuscript, 'A conjecture concerning bladders of air that are found in fishes' by A I | May 1675 |
| CLP/4i/48/1 | Manuscript, 'Account of great haile fallen in France' by Robert Boyle | 1686 |
| CLP/6/51 | Paper, 'An account of R Boyle's way of examining waters as to freshnes and saltnes' by Robert Boyle | 30 October 1683 |
| EL/OB/133 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 12 October 1670 |
| EL/B1/94 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | October 1665 |
| EL/OB/82 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 25 February 1668 |
| EL/B1/92 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 30 September 1665 |
| EL/OB/104 | Letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle, dated at Yeovil, Somerset | 2 November 1663 |
| EL/OB/88 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | nd |
| EL/OB/54 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 September 1666 |
| EL/OB/83 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle | 3 March 1667 |
| EL/OB/7 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 June 1663 |
| EL/OB/5 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at Paris | 17 May 1659 |
| EL/OB/81 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 18 February 1668 |
| EL/OB/84 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 March 1668 |
| EL/OB/31 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 4 July 1665 |
| EL/OB/73 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 17 December 1667 |
| EL/OB/89 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 30 March 1668 |
| EL/OB/41 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 21 November 1665 |
| EL/OB/40 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 31 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/45 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 16 January 1666 |
| EL/OB/70 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 25 November 1667 |
| EL/OB/77 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 14 January 1667 |
| EL/C1/105 | Letter, from Israel Conradt to Robert Boyle | 1672 |
| EL/OB/13 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 22 September 1664 |
| EL/OB/12 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 September 1664 |
| EL/OB/44 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 30 December 1665 |
| EL/OB/47 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 February 1666 |
| EL/B1/40 | Copy of a letter, from John Beale to Robert Boyle | 25 April 1664 |
| CLP/15i/26 | Paper, 'Some observations about shining flesh' by Robert Boyle | 15 March 1672 |
| CLP/11i/21 | Paper, 'A paper of the honourable Robt [Robert] Boyle deposited with the secretarys [sic] of the Royal Society and opened since his death being an account of his way of making the phosphorus etc.' by Robert Boyle | 30 September 1680 |
| CLP/17/9 | Paper, 'Observations and tryalls about the resemblances and differences between a burning coale and shineing wood' by Robert Boyle | [1667-1668] |
| RBO/1/22 | 'An Experimentall Account of the Compression of Aire Made by Mr Boyle' | 2 October 1661 |
| RBO/2i/72 | 'To prevent the Rott in Sheep' by Robert Boyle | 14 October 1663 |
| RBO/2ii/64 | 'Observations made by Mr Boyle on 27 of October 1663 about Mr Claytons Diamond' | 1663 |
| EL/B1/82 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | November 1664 |
| EL/B1/85 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 8 July 1665 |
| EL/B1/86 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 23 July 1665 |
| EL/B1/87 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg | 6 August 1665 |
| EL/B1/100 | Letter, from Robert Boyle to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Stanton | 9 December 1665 |
| EL/OB/10 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 25 August 1664 |
| EL/OB/11 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 1 September 1664 |
| EL/OB/14 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 29 September 1664 |
| EL/OB/15 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 6 October 1664 |
| EL/OB/21 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 3 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/24 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 17 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/26 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 November 1664 |
| EL/OB/38 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 10 October 1665 |
| EL/OB/57 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 2 October 1666 |
| EL/OB/66 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 8 October 1667 |
| EL/OB/71 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 3 December 1667 |
| EL/OB/74 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 24 December 1667 |
| EL/OB/76 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 7 January 1667 |
| EL/OB/78 | Letter, from Henry Oldenburg to Robert Boyle, dated at London | 28 January 1667 |
| CLP/18i/24 | Paper, regarding burning in vacuo and preserving fruit by Denis Papin | June 1686 |
| RBO/1/1 | 'Questions Propounded and agreed uppon to be sent to Tenariff' devised by Lord Brouncker and Mr Boyle | 2 January 1661 |
| RBO/3/46 | 'Tryals proposed by Robert Boyle Esq to Dr Lower to be made by him for the Improvement of the Experiment of Transfusing Bloud out of one live Animal into another' | 1666 |
| EL/S1/103 | Letter, from unknown to Robert Boyle, dated at Danzig (Gdansk) | 18 August 1668 |
| P/0010 | Portrait of Boyle, Robert | |