Francis John Hyde Wollaston FRS (13 April 1762,

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 ...

– 12 October 1823) 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 ...

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

and Jacksonian Professor at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Life

Francis John Hyde Wollaston was the son of Francis Wollaston (1731–1815) and Althea Hyde, and brother to

William Hyde Wollaston William Hyde Wollaston (; 6 August 1766 – 22 December 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingo ...

(1766-1828). He was educated in Scarning,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

before entering Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1779. He graduated as

senior wrangler The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain." Specifically, it is the person who a ...

in 1783, became a fellow of Trinity Hall in 1785, and was ordained a priest in 1787. Wollaston was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1786. From 1792 to 1813 he was Jacksonian Professor at Cambridge. Resigning his Trinity Hall fellowship to marry Frances Hayles in 1793, he became Rector of

South Weald South Weald is a mainly farmland and park settlement in the Borough of Brentwood in Essex, England. The civil parish of South Weald was absorbed by Brentwood Urban District in 1934. In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 6370. South Weald con ...

the following year. In 1807 he was elected Master of Sidney Sussex College, but the election was declared invalid on the grounds that he had never been a fellow of Sidney Sussex. On resigning his professorship in 1813, he assumed additional clerical duties: from 1813 to 1823 he was rector of

Cold Norton Cold Norton is a village on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England. It is located in rural countryside 10 miles to the east of Chelmsford, and lies just over a mile to the north of the River Crouch, which can be seen from the village's main hill ...

and

Archdeacon of Essex The Archdeacon of West Ham is a senior ecclesiastical officer – in charge of the Archdeaconry of West Ham – in the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford. The current archdeacon is Elwin Cockett. Brief history Historically, the Archdeaconry ...

. He is buried with his father in St Nicholas's Churchyard in

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

Works

*''A Plan of a Course of Chemical Lectures'', 1794 *''Charge, delivered to the Clergy of the Archdeaconry of Essex'', 1815

References

External links

* Archdeacons of Essex Jacksonian Professors of Natural Philosophy Fellows of the Royal Society 1762 births 1823 deaths Senior Wranglers People educated at Charterhouse School Fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Masters of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Natural philosophers {{England-scientist-stub