Benjamin Worsley

Benjamin Worsley

Benjamin Worsley (1618-1673) was an English physician, Surveyor-General of Ireland, experimental scientist, civil servant and intellectual figure of Commonwealth England. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but may not have graduated [Newman and Principe, p. 239.] .

His survey of land in Ireland was of land claimed by Oliver Cromwell under the Act of Settlement. Worsley was from 1651 a physician in Cromwell's army, but took to surveying around 1653. His work was too rough-and-ready to be of practical help to arranging land grants to soldiers, and William Petty took over. [Mary Poovey, "A History of the Modern Fact" (1998), p. 121.]

He was an alchemical writer, and associate of Robert Boyle, and knew George Starkey from 1650. He was a major figure of the 'Invisible College' of the 1640s [Young, p. 218.] .

Worseley associated with the circle around Samuel Hartlib and John Dury, and on their behalf visited Johann Rudolph Glauber [Newman and Principe, p. 212; Young Ch. 7.] in 1648-9. Worsley followed the theories of Michael Sendivogius and Clovis Hesteau. He was a projector in the manufacture of saltpeter (1646) [Newman and Principe, p. 239.] . Later, probably in the mid-1650s, he wrote "De nitro theses quaedam" [Newman and Principe, p. 239-44.] . He also took up the alchemy of transmutation, with Johann Moriaen and Johann Siberius Kuffler [Newman and Principe, p. 244-49.] .

He was also probably heterodox in religion [Christopher Hill, "Milton and the English Revolution", p.294.] .

References and sources

;Notes

;Sources
* William R. Newman and Lawrence M. Principe (2002), "Alchemy Tried in the Fire"
*J. T. Young (1998), "Faith, Alchemy and Natural Philosophy: Johann Moriaen, Reformed Intelligencer, and the Hartlib Circle"
*Clericuzio, Antonio, "New Light on Benjamin Worsley's Natural Philosophy', in Mark Greengrass, Michael Leslie and Timothy Raylor (eds.), Samuel Hartlib and Universal Reformation: Studies in Intellectual Communication (Cambridge University Press, 1994), 236-46
*Webster, C. (1994) "Benjamin Worsley: engineering for universal reform from the Invisible College to the Navigation Act" in Samuel Hartlib and Universal Reformation: Studies in Intellectual Communication (1994)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Benjamin Worsley — (1618 1673) était un expérimentateur et médecin anglais, Surveyor General d Irlande et figure intellectuelle du Commonwealth. Il étudia au Trinity College de Dublin mais ne semble pas y avoir été diplômé[1]. Il est l auteur d écrits alchimiques,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Invisible College — The Invisible College (le Collège Invisible) est une expression employée par le chimiste anglais Robert Boyle dans des lettres de 1646 et 1647 pour désigner une société de savants à laquelle il appartenait. Il a été supposé que cette société… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Projet:Médecine/Index — Articles 0 9 1,2 dibromo 3 chloropropane · 112 (numéro d urgence européen) · 1935 en santé et médecine · 1941 en santé et médecine · 1er régiment médical · 2 iodothyronine déiodinase · 2,4,6 trichlorophénol · 2005 en santé et médecine · 2006 en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Down Survey — The Down Survey, also known as the Civil Survey, refers to the mapping of Ireland carried out by William Petty, English scientist in 1655 and 1656. The survey was apparently called the Down Survey by Petty because the results were set down in… …   Wikipedia

  • Down Survey — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El Down Survey, se refiere a la creación de un mapa topográfico de Irlanda que identificaba las tierras que habían sido confiscadas a los colonos irlandeses durante las guerras confederadas, y que posteriormente… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Nicholas Barbon — Born c. 1640 London Died c. 1698 Osterley House, Middlesex …   Wikipedia

  • List of Trinity College Dublin people — This is an incomplete list of some notable alumni of the University of Dublin, all of whom attended its only constituent college Trinity College, Dublin.Notable alumni of the University of DublinArmed forces*General Eyre Coote, Governor General… …   Wikipedia

  • Johannes Sibertus Kuffler — [ Küffeler, Koffler.] (1595 1677) was a German inventor and chemist, from Cologne. He started in a successful dyeing business in Leiden, with his brother Abraham, and then moved it to Bow, London [ [http://www.british… …   Wikipedia

  • Cheney Culpeper — Sir Cheney Culpeper[1] (1601–1663) was an English landowner, a supporter of Samuel Hartlib[2], and a largely non political figure of his troubled times[3], interested in technological progress and reform. His sister Judith was the second wife of… …   Wikipedia

  • Samuel Hartlib — (1600 – 1662) était un polymathe germano britannique. Il s intéressait aux sciences, à la médecine, à l agriculture, à la politique et à l éducation. Il s est installé en Angleterre où il s est marié et vécut jusqu à la fin de ses jours. Il était …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”