Sir George Wharton, 1st Baronet (4 April 1617 – 12 August 1681) was an English military officer, astrologer and poet who served as

Treasurer of the Ordnance The Treasurer of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance in the United Kingdom, the office being created in 1670. The office was abolished in 1836 and its duties merged with that of several others to form the office ...

from 1670 to 1681.

Life

He was the son of a blacksmith in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. He went to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

to study, though not admitted to the university. He then returned to Westmorland, and in 1642 sold his family property, and raised his own troop of horse for the Royalist cause. He shared defeat at

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman ...

, in 1643. He is said to have served under

Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

. He then went to

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

at Oxford, and was given a paymaster position in the Ordnance, under Sir John Heydon. At this period he became a friend of

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer, freemason and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Char ...

, helping him to a military commission. Wharton attended, with Ashmole, the first meeting in 1647 of the Society of Astrologers at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

. It included both

William Lilly William Lilly (9 June 1681) was a seventeenth century English astrologer. He is described as having been a genius at something "that modern mainstream opinion has since decided cannot be done at all" having developed his stature as the most imp ...

and John Booker, Parliamentarians who had been on the other side of the astrological pamphlet exchanges in the Civil War that had ended in 1646. He was imprisoned in 1649, and might have been executed but his former opponent William Lilly spoke up for him with

Bulstrode Whitelocke Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (6 August 1605 – 28 July 1675) was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian, and one of the commissioners of the Great Seal during the Interregnum. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke and ...

. He was released by the intervention of Ashmole, who made him steward on his Berkshire estates. At the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

of 1660, he was reinstated as a paymaster. He became

in 1670, an office he held until his death. He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1677.

Works

He took the pen name George Naworth, for his first almanac in 1641. He then issued an almost unbroken annual sequence, using his own name from 1645, not publishing in 1646, but expanding the work with history and continuing from 1647 to 1666. As a royalist pamphleteer and

newsbook Newsbooks were the 17th-century precursors to today's newspapers. Originating in England and Scotland, they are distinct from the earlier news periodicals, known as corantos, which were sourced from continental Europe. History The first newsboo ...

editor, he wrote ''Mercurius Elencticus'' from 1647. Mocking Parliament, it carried biographical material on its leaders. When Wharton was imprisoned, it continued with help from Samuel Sheppard. He attacked

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (1951–2023), professor of classics at Brigham Young Univ ...

, who wrote ''Mercurius Britanicus'', employed by William Lilly whom ''Mercurius Elencticus'' lampooned. He also attacked John Booker, another astrologer in the Parliamentarian camp.Joad Raymond, ''The Invention of the Newspaper: English Newsbooks, 1641-1649'' (2005), p. 194. His collected works were issued by

John Gadbury John Gadbury (1627–1704) was an English astrologer, and a prolific writer of almanacs and on other related topics. Initially a follower or disciple, and a defender in the 1650s, of William Lilly, he eventually turned against Lilly and denounced ...

, in 1683.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, George 1617 births 1681 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England English astrologers 17th-century astrologers Cavaliers People from Westmorland