Robert Payne (natural philosopher)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert Payne (1596–1651) was an English cleric and academic, known also as a
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 experimentalist. He was associated with the so-called
Welbeck Academy 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 ...
by his position as chaplain (with duties as secretary) to
William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, Order of the Garter, KG, Order of the Bath, KB, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (25 December 1676) was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as ...
. The position also brought him a close friendship with
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
.


Life

Payne was born in Abingdon, and was educated at
John Roysse John Roysse (1500 or 1501–1571) was an English mercer and benefactor of Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Personal life John Roysse was probably connected with the Roysse family of East Hagbourne but there are few records appertaining ...
's Free School in Abingdon, (now
Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...
). He matriculated 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 ...
in 1611, and graduated B.A. in 1614. He was a contemporary as student of
William Backhouse William Backhouse (17 January 1593 – 30 May 1662) was an English philosopher, alchemist, astrologer, translator, and the esoteric mentor of Elias Ashmole. Born into the wealthy Backhouse family, Backhouse enjoyed an education at Oxford, and w ...
, who later showed him friendship at the end of 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 Anglo ...
. In 1624 he became the second Fellow of Pembroke College. He put himself forward as candidate for
Gresham Professor of Astronomy The Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to ten and in addition the ...
in 1626. In 1630 Payne entered the Cavendish orbit with his nomination as rector of
Tormarton Tormarton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. Its name may come from ''Thor Maer Tun'' meaning ''The settlement with the thorn (tree) on the boundary''. Another source suggests the name derives from the church tower (Tor) on the bord ...
by the Earl of Newcastle. A mathematical correspondence with Charles Cavendish led him out of academia. He was taken on as chaplain, by April 1632, at
Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is one ...
, where he assumed multiple roles in the household. This period of his life, from which his notability as an intellectual figure arises, was cut short in 1638. At that point Newcastle took on responsibility for the upbringing of the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
. Payne then returned to Oxford, as a canon of Christ Church from 1638-1648. He was created D.D. in 1642, and was deprived of his living in 1646. At this period Payne did what he could to circulate the ideas and manuscripts of Hobbes in Oxford, and to reduce the hostility of
Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 ...
. The
Parliamentary visitation of Oxford The parliamentary visitation of the University of Oxford was a political and religious purge taking place from 1647, for a number of years. Many Masters and Fellows of Colleges lost their positions. Background A comparable but less prominent parli ...
in 1648 saw Payne deprived of his college position. He ended his life with family, in Abingdon.


Works

Payne was not a published author: his significant work was left in manuscript. He undertook some chemical experiments with Newcastle in the 1630s. As reported later by Newcastle, one involved ''lapis prunellae'' (a mixture here of
saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitra ...
and brimstone), as a form of
indoor firework Fireworks in England, Scotland and Wales are governed primarily by the Fireworks Regulations 2004 (under powers delegated from the Fireworks Act 2003), the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015, and British Standards BS 7114 until 4/ ...
. He translated a work by
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
, ''Della scienza mecanica'', from Italian to English in 1636, from a manuscript copy. The previous year he had also translated the second half of ''Della misura dell'acque correnti'' of
Benedetto Castelli Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 9 April 1643), born Antonio Castelli, was an Italian mathematician. Benedetto was his name in religion on entering the Benedictine Order in 1595. Life Born in Brescia, Castelli studied at the University of Padua and l ...
, a work on
fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them. It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and bio ...
. The original manuscripts were obtained from
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 the work was for Charles Cavendish. Scholarly debate continues as to the possible attribution of manuscripts from the Cavendish circle to Payne: the discussion goes deeper than handwriting, since Payne acted also as a copyist. One work, the ''Short Tract on First Principles'' initially thought to be by Hobbes, is now thought by Timothy Raylor and Noel Malcolm to be by Payne. Mordechai Feingold suggests another candidate.


See also

*
List of Old Abingdonians Old Abingdonians are former pupils of Abingdon School or, in some cases, Honorary Old Abingdonians who have been awarded the status based on service to the School. The Old Abingdonians also run the Old Abingdonian Club (OA club) which is an organ ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Robert 1596 births 1651 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford English translators English scientists Natural philosophers People educated at Abingdon School 17th-century translators