Sir Charles Cavendish (13 Aug 15914 Feb 1653) was an English aristocrat, Member of Parliament for Nottingham, and patron. Described as 'a little, weak, crooked man’ by John Aubrey, he studied

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

himself, as well as supporting others, including Walter Warner, Robert Payne, and William Oughtred. During the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Ang ...

from 1642 to 1646, he became a Lieutenant General in the Royalist army in the north, under his brother, William, Earl of Newcastle. He accompanied him into exile after the defeat at Marston Moor in July 1644. At the request of his brother, he returned to England in 1651, and managed to purchase Bolsover Castle and Welbeck Abbey, which had been confiscated by Parliament. He died at Bolsover in February 1654.

Life

He was the younger brother of William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He built a mansion on the site of Bolsover Castle, bought by his father (also called Sir Charles Cavendish). His work on the house, to a design by John Smythson (son of Robert Smythson), was never completed. He was knighted, at Welbeck on 10 August 1619, during a visit of the king to his brother. On 23 January 1623–4, he was returned to parliament for the borough of Nottingham. He was also returned for the same place to the third parliament of Charles I on 18 February 1627–8, and to the Short parliament on 30 March 1640. On the outbreak of the civil war, Cavendish, with his brother Newcastle, entered the king's service, serving under his brother as lieutenant-general of the horse. He behaved with great gallantry in several actions, particularly distinguishing himself at the Battle of Marston Moor. He went into exile with his brother after the battle. His group of intellectual acquaintances has been called the

Welbeck Circle The Welbeck Academy or Welbeck Circle is a name that has been given to the loose intellectual grouping around William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the first half of the 17th century. It takes its name from Welbeck Abbey, a country ...

, after the family home Welbeck Abbey; it has also been called the "Newcastle Circle" after the elder brother's title. Because the Cavendishes were royalist émigrés of the 1640s, the centre of this circle moved to Paris, where it took on the form of a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

. It grew around Thomas Hobbes and John Pell, with Sir Kenelm Digby joining in Paris, and also included William Petty. Cavendish knew Pell from the Welbeck period, along with the mathematicians Walter Warner and Robert Payne. He supported William Oughtred, and was a friend of

John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...

Marin Mersenne Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...

and

Claude Mydorge Claude Mydorge (1585 – July 1647) was a French mathematician. His primary contributions were in geometry and physics. Mydorge served on a scientific committee (whose members included Pierre Hérigone and Étienne Pascal) set up to dete ...

; he later met René Descartes, Gilles de Roberval and Pierre Gassendi. Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century British Philosophers'' (2000), article ''Cavendish, Charles'', pp. 165-6. Cavendish was disinclined to make any concession by returning to England, but as the revenue from his estates was serviceable to his family, his brother Newcastle induced Clarendon to persuade him to make his submission. He accordingly repaired to England in the beginning of November with Lady Newcastle. They stayed in Southwark and afterwards in lodgings at Covent Garden, in great poverty. He was finally admitted to compound, and succeeded in purchasing Welbeck and Bolsover which had been confiscated from his brother. The proceedings in regard to his estates were not completed at the time of his death. He was buried at Bolsover in the family vault on 4 Feb. 1653–4.

Life

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