Lawrence Rooke (also Laurence) (1622–26 June 1662) 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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

. He was also 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 ...

, although he died as it was being formally constituted.

Life

He was born in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

, and was a great-nephew through his mother of

Lancelot Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chi ...

.C. A. Ronan, ''Laurence Rooke (1622–1662)'', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 15, (Jul., 1960), pp. 113–118. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, where he graduated M.A. in 1647. He became a fellow commoner 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 ...

in 1650, having dropped out of academia for a period because of bad health.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers'' (2000), p. 691. At Wadham he worked closely with

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 f ...

and Seth Ward. He became 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 1652, and then Professor of Geometry there, in 1657, an appointment in which

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

took an interest. He was unpublished in his lifetime, but left papers on

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

and the

moons of Jupiter There are 82 known moons of Jupiter, not counting a number of moonlets likely shed from the inner moons. All together, they form a satellite system which is called the Jovian system. The most massive of the moons are the four Galilean moons: ...

that were published posthumously. He also wrote at the Royal Society's request a set of directions for sailors, on the correct way to record meteorological and oceanographic observations on their travels. These appeared in volume 1 of the Royal Society's ''Philosophical Transactions'' as ''Directions for Sea-men, bound for far Voyages'' (Phil. Trans. 1665 1 140-143
doi:10.1098/rstl.1665.0066
Michael McKeon, ''The Origins of the English Novel, 1600–1740'' (2002), p. 102. Montes Rook, a circular mountain range on the moon, is named after Lawrence Rooke.

Notes

External links

Galileo Project page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rooke, Laurence 1622 births 1662 deaths 17th-century English astronomers 17th-century English mathematicians Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Founder Fellows of the Royal Society Professors of Gresham College People educated at Eton College