Richard Waller FRS (d. 1715) was an English naturalist, translator and illustrator, long-time member and secretary 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 ...

. Little is known about his early life. He became a member of the Royal Society on 27 April 1681, acting as secretary from 1687 to 1709, and again from 1710 to 1714, and member of its council from 1686 to 1699, Vice-President during

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 grea ...

’s presidency. Waller edited the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'' from 1691 to 1695, also acting as translator for submissions from abroad. His ''Essays of Natural Experiments'', a translation of the collection of essays ''Saggi di naturali esperienze'' of the

Accademia del Cimento The Accademia del Cimento (Academy of Experiment), an early scientific society, was founded in Florence in 1657 by students of Galileo, Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and Vincenzo Viviani and ceased to exist about a decade later. The foundation of Acade ...

is one of the important early publications by the Royal Society. The archive of the Royal Society also holds a number of botanical illustrations by Waller, possibly intended for a publication by

John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...

. His fossil drawings were rediscovered together with

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath active as a scientist, natural philosopher and architect, who is credited to be one of two scientists to discover microorganisms in 1665 using a compound microscope that ...

’s drawings in the British Library. On Hooke's death in 1703, his records were entrusted to Waller, parts of which were edited by Waller and published as ''Hooke’s Posthumous Works'' (1705). Waller had an extensive library, and often exchanged books with Hooke. In 1685, Waller married Anne Blackwell (1669–1744), a daughter of the Bristol wine merchant, Jonathan Blackwell (d. 1676), and noted for funding the construction of the Christmas Steps. Waller’s children did not survive to adulthood. Accordingly, Waller’s estate, including the library and a house in

Northaw Northaw is a village in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Northaw and Cuffley (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), which was originally known as Northaw. The parish had ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, passed to his widow Anne. She in turn made her younger brother, Jonathan Blackwell, her sole heir. Jonathan was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, and had been nominated by Waller, though apparently he was not scientifically active. Waller most likely died at his residence in Northaw, Hertfordshire, at some point between 23 December 1714 and 13 January 1715.

Bibliography

;''Philosophical Transactions'' * ''Observations on the Cicindela Volans, or Flying Glow-Worm, with the Figure Thereof Made, and Dsiegned by Richard Waller Esq. F. of the R. S.'' Band 15, 1685, 841–845, . * ''A Catalogue of Simple and Mixt Colours, with a Specimen of Each Colour Prefixt to Its Proper Name''. vol. 16, 1686, 24–32, . * ''Some Observations Made on the Spawn of Frogs, and of the Production of Todpoles therein''. vol. 16, 1686, 523–524, . * ''Observations in the Dissection of a Paroquet''. vol. 18, 1694, 153–157, . * ''Some Observations Sent from the East-Indies; Being in Answer to Some Queries Sent Thither''. vol. 20, 1698, 273–277, . * ''Part of a Letter from Richard Waller, Esq; S R. S. to Dr. Hans Sloane, R. S. Secr. concerning Two Deaf Persons, Who can Speak and Understand What is Said to Them by the Motion of the Lips''. vol. 25, 1706, 2468–2469, . * ''A Description of That Curious Natural Machine, the Wood-Peckers Tongue, etc.'' vol. 29, 1714, 509–522, . ;as translator * ''Essayes of Natural Experiments made in the Academie del Cimento''. Benjamin Alsop, London 1684
(online)
* ''The Measure of the Earth'' In: Perrault, Claude: ''Memoir's for a natural history of animals : containing the anatomical descriptions of several creatures dissected by the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris''. 1688
(online)
;as editor * ''The posthumous works of

''. London 1705
(online)

References

Sources

* Boschiero, L.: ''Translation, Experimentation and the Spring of the Air: Richard Waller's Essayes of Natural Experiments''. In: ''Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London'' 64.1, 2010, 67–83, * Ezell, M. J. M.: ''Richard Waller, SRS: „In the Pursuit of Nature“''. In: ''Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London'' 38, 1984, 215–233, . * Lyons, H. G.: ''Richard Waller (About 1650 to 1715)''. In: ''Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London'' 3, 1940, 92–94, . * Lotte Mulligan: ''Waller, Richard (c.1660–1715)''. In: ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 2008

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Richard Fellows of the Royal Society English naturalists 1650s births 1715 deaths People from Northaw