Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery by Charles Jervas

Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery KT PC FRS (28 July 1674 – 28 August 1731) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

nobleman,

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

and patron of the sciences.

Early life

The second son of

Roger Boyle, 2nd Earl of Orrery Roger Boyle, 2nd Earl of Orrery (24 August 1646 - 29 March 1682), styled Lord Broghill between 1660 and 1679, was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament. Boyle was born in Dublin, the son of Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, by Lady Margaret, dau ...

, and his wife Lady Mary Sackville (1647–1710), daughter of

Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (16 September 1622 – 27 August 1677) was an English peer and politician. Background He was born at Dorset House, the second of three children of Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset and Mary Curzon, d ...

, he was born at

Little Chelsea Little Chelsea was a hamlet, located on either side of Fulham Road, half a mile Southwest of Chelsea, London. The earliest references to the settlement date from the early 17th century, and the name continued to be used until the hamlet was surrou ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, 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 (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

's life of

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 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 en ...

, and published an edition of the epistles of

Phalaris Phalaris ( el, Φάλαρις) was the tyrant of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC. History Phalaris was renowned for his excessive cruelty. Among his alleged atrocities is cannibalism: he was said to have e ...

, which engaged him in the famous controversy with

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

. He was a member of the Irish Parliament and sat for

Charleville Charleville can refer to: Australia * Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia **Charleville railway station, Queensland France * Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France *Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France ** ...

between 1695 and 1699. He was three times member for the town of

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

; 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 John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter (c. 1648 – 29 August 1700), known as Lord Burghley until 1678, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. He was also known as the Travelling Earl. Life Exeter was the son of John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter (16 ...

and Lady Anne Cavendish, at

Burghley House Burghley House () is a grand sixteenth-century English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. It is a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, built and still lived in by the Cecil family. The exterior largely retains its Elizabet ...

. 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 A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. 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 Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-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, ...

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

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He inherited the estate in 1714. orrery small

Boyle became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1706. In 1713, under the patronage of Boyle, clockmaker

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

created the first mechanical

solar system model Solar System models, especially mechanical models, called ''orreries'', that illustrate the relative positions and motions of the planets and Natural satellite, moons in the Solar System have been built for centuries. While they often showed rela ...

that could demonstrate proportional motion of the planets around the Sun. The device was named the

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

in the Earl's honour. Charles Boyle received several additional honours in the reign of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria ( fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

; but having had the misfortune to fall under the suspicion of the government for playing a part in the Jacobite

Atterbury Plot The Atterbury Plot was a conspiracy led by Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster, aimed at the restoration of the House of Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. It came some years after the unsuccessful Jacobite ri ...

, he was committed to the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

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 ''As You Find It'' is a 1703 comedy play by the English writer Charles Boyle, later Earl of Orrery. His grandfather Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery had also been a playwright. In style it is much closer to traditional Restoration comedy, than th ...

'', 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 Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and encyclopaedist, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. Biography Chambers was born in Milton near Kendal, Westmor ...

.List of Subscribers to the Cyclopaedia
at library.wisc.edu

Later life

Boyle died at his house in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

in 1731 and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. He bequeathed his personal library and collection of scientific instruments to

Christ Church Library Christ Church Library is a Georgian building that forms the south side of Peckwater Quadrangle in Christ Church, Oxford, England. To the east is Canterbury Quadrangle. The library houses the college's modern lending library and early printed bo ...

; the instruments are now on display in the

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from th ...

. 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

Smith, Lawrence Berkley
Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, 1674–1731
PhD dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 1994.

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 Charles 04 *04 British Army 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 ''*k ...

Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Netherlands English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Huntingdonshire