Martin Folkes by Roubiliac, British Museum

Martin Folkes PRS FRS (29 October 1690 – 28 June 1754), 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 ...

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

, mathematician, and astronomer.

Life

Folkes was born 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 ...

on 29 October 1690, the eldest son of Martin Folkes, councillor at Law.Albert G. Mackey, M.D. An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences, New and Revised edition. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co., 1894. p. 280 Educated at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, he so distinguished himself in

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 ...

that when only twenty-three years of age he was chosen 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 ...

. He was elected one of the council in 1716, and in 1723

Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the great ...

, president of the society, appointed him one of the vice-presidents. On the death of Newton he became a candidate for the presidency, but was defeated by

Sir Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

, whom, however, he succeeded in 1741; in 1742 he was made a member of the French Royal Academy of Sciences; in 1746 he received honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. Folkes was a prominent Freemason, being appointed Deputy Grand Master of the

Premier Grand Lodge of England The organisation now known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. Originally concerned with the practice of Freemasonry in London and Westminster, it soon became known as ...

during the year 1724–1725. In 1733 he set out on a tour through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in the course of which he composed his ''Dissertations on the weights and Values of Ancient Coins''. Before the Society of Antiquaries, of which he was president from 1749 to 1754, he read in 1736 his ''Observations on the Trajan and Antonine Pillars at Rome'' and his ''Table of English Gold Coins from the 18th Year of King Edward III''. In 1745 he printed the latter with another on the history of silver coinage. He also contributed both to the Society of Antiquaries and to the Royal Society other papers, chiefly on Roman antiquities. In 1739 he was elected one of the founding vice-presidents of London's charitable

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

for abandoned children, a position he maintained until 1747. Folkes was married in 1714 to

Lucretia Bradshaw Lucretia Bradshaw (fl. 1714 - 1741) was an English actress. She was often billed as Mrs. Bradshaw. In Thomas Betterton's 1741 ''A History of the English Stage'', it is stated that: She declared herself to have learned from Elizabeth Barry: "to ...

, an actress who had appeared at the Haymarket and Drury Lane (see

Nichols Nichols may refer to: People *Nichols (surname) *Nichol, a surname Places Canada * Nichols Islands, Nunavut United States * Nichols, California, an unincorporated community * Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California * Nichols, Connecticut * Nich ...

's ''Lit. Anecdot.'' ii. 578–598). His portrait was painted and etched by

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...

(1697–1764). Folkes was a noted atheist, and abhorred racial prejudice. Some of his public statements have been interpreted as evidence of a Darwinian viewpoint. According to the archaeologist

William Stukeley William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric ...

, he set up an ''Infidels Club'' in 1720, and caused several young noblemen of the

to jeer whenever scriptural material was injected into a scientific debate.W. C. Lucis (ed), The Family Memoirs of the Rev. William Stukeley M.D., Surtees Society, 1882, pp 98–100 For Sir John Hill's attack on Folkes (''Review of the Works of the Royal Soc.'', 1751), see

Isaac D'Israeli Isaac D'Israeli (11 May 1766 – 19 January 1848) was a British writer, scholar and the father of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. He is best known for his essays and his associations with other men of letters. Life and career Isaac wa ...

, ''Calamities and Quarrels of Authors'' (1860), pp. 364–366. There is a memorial to Folkes at

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 ...

.'The Abbey Scientists' Hall, A.R. p12: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966

Sources

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Folkes, Martin 1690 births 1754 deaths English atheists Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England English numismatists 18th-century English mathematicians Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Presidents of the Royal Society Presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of London