Walter Pope (''c.'' 1627 – 1714) 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 ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and poet. He was the son of Francis Pope and Jane Dod, daughter of the Puritan minister

John Dod John Dod (c. 1549 – 1645), known as "Decalogue Dod", was a non-conforming English clergyman, taking his nickname for his emphasis on the Ten Commandments. He is known for his widely circulated writings. Although he lost one means of livelihood ...

. He was born in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and was the half brother of

John Wilkins John Wilkins, (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death. Wilkins is one of the fe ...

, who would become bishop of Chester and one of the founders 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 educated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, with a BA in 1649, MA in 1651. Until the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, he worked in Wadham College. In 1660, he became the professor of astronomy at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...

in London, taking over for Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

, and he was also appointed

Dean of Wadham College This is a list of Wadham College, Oxford people, including alumni, Fellows, Deans and Wardens of the College. An alphabetical list of alumni of Wadham college can be found here. Alumni Academics * Martin Aitken, archaeometrist * Amir Attaran, ...

. He became one of the earliest members of the

, and he was also made the registrar of the diocese of Chester. During the 1660s, he was active in the Royal Society, with two letters published in ''Philosophical Transactions'' in 1665 and 1666. He traveled to France and Italy and reported for the Royal Society from Italy. In 1686, he developed a severe eye infection, and he resigned his teaching post in 1687. In 1693, his collection of books burned.

Anthony à Wood Anthony Wood (17 December 1632 – 28 November 1695), who styled himself Anthony à Wood in his later writings, was an English antiquary. He was responsible for a celebrated ''Hist. and Antiq. of the Universitie of Oxon''. Early life Anthony W ...

wrote of Pope as a libertine, and he published collections of poetry and translations in 1698, but others regarded him as pious and devout. He died in 1714 and left his money and belongings to a woman named Anne Shargold, who had cared for him in his illness. He was buried in St. Giles, Cripplegate.

References

*Clerke, A. M. and

Anita McConnell Anita McConnell (1936–2016) PhD, JP, was a writer on the history of science and a curator of oceanography and geophysics at the Science Museum, London. She is most widely known for her popular Shire book on barometers but also wrote many books ...

. "Walter Pope" in Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

.'' vol. 44, p 885. London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Walter 1714 deaths 17th-century English astronomers 1627 births Original Fellows of the Royal Society English male poets Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford