Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery KT PC FRS (28 July 1674 – 28 August 1731) was an English nobleman, statesman and patron of the sciences.

Early life

The second son of Roger Boyle, 2nd Earl of Orrery, and his wife Lady Mary Sackville (1647–1710), daughter of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset, he was born at Little Chelsea,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and soon distinguished himself by his learning and abilities.

Career

Like the first earl, he was an author, soldier and statesman. He translated

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

's life of

Lysander Lysander (; ; 454 BC – 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played ...

, and published an edition of the epistles of Phalaris, which engaged him in the famous controversy with

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

. He was a member of the Irish Parliament and sat for Charleville between 1695 and 1699. He was three times member for the town of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

; and on the death of his brother, Lionel, 3rd earl, in 1703, he succeeded to the title. In 1706, he married Lady Elizabeth Cecil, daughter of John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter and Lady Anne Cavendish, at Burghley House. Their son and heir, John, was born the following year. He entered the army, and in 1709 was raised to the rank of major-general, and sworn one of Her Majesty's Privy Council. He was appointed to the

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

and appointed queen's envoy to the states of Brabant and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

; and having discharged this trust with ability, he was created an English peer, as Baron Boyle of Marston, in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He inherited the estate in 1714. Boyle became a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1706. In 1713, under the patronage of Boyle, clockmaker George Graham created the first mechanical Solar System model that could demonstrate proportional motion of the planets around the Sun. The device was named the

orrery An orrery is a mechanical Solar System model, model of the Solar System that illustrates or predicts the relative positions and motions of the planets and natural satellite, moons, usually according to the heliocentric model. It may also represent ...

in the Earl's honour. Charles Boyle received several additional honours in the reign of George I; but having had the misfortune to fall under the suspicion of the government for playing a part in the Jacobite Atterbury Plot, he was committed to the Tower in 1722, where he remained six months, and was then admitted to bail. On a subsequent inquiry, he was discharged. Boyle wrote a comedy, '' As You Find It'', printed in 1703 and later published together with the plays of the first earl. In 1728, he was listed as one of the subscribers to the '' Cyclopaedia'' of Ephraim Chambers.

Later life

Boyle died at his house in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in 1731 and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. He bequeathed his personal library and collection of scientific instruments to Christ Church Library; the instruments are now on display in the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. His son John, the 5th Earl of Orrery, succeeded to the earldom of Cork on the failure of the elder branch of the Boyle family, as earl of Cork and Orrery.

References

Bibliography

External links

Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orrery, Charles Boyle, 4th Earl Of 1674 births 1731 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army major generals Burials at Westminster Abbey Fellows of the Royal Society Boyle, Charles Knights of the Thistle Lord-lieutenants of Somerset Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People from Chelsea, London

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Dutch Republic English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Huntingdonshire 4th 1st