Page:Life of Sir William Petty 1623 – 1687.djvu/125

 

CHAPTER IV

DR. PETTY AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY

1660-1667

 

Meetings at Gresham College—Dr. Petty and the King—Knighthood—The ship 'Experiment'—Launch of the 'Experiment'—Sir William Petty and Mr. Pepys—The 'Scale of Creatures'—Dr. Petty and the Churches—Unitarianism in the seventeenth century—Concerning the Plagues of London—Mechanical experiments—Design of a steam-vessel.

It has already been seen that the formation of a permanent 'society of men,' as careful to advance arts as the Jesuits to propagate religion, was a favourite idea with Dr. Petty. Such an association it was now determined to found.

Most of the members of the Philosophical Society of Oxford had by 1658 removed to London; but they continued their meetings, the trysting-place being fixed at Gresham College; and there, on November 28, 1660, a decision of momentous consequence for the future of scientific research was adopted.

In the Journal of the Royal Society the first official record is:

'Memorandum that, November 28, 1660, these persons following, according to the usual custom of most of them, mett together at Gresham College, to hear Mr. Wren's lecture, viz., the Lord Brouncker, Mr. Boyle, Mr. Bruce, Sir Robert Moray, Sir Paule Neill, Dr. Wilkins, Dr. Goddard, Dr. Petty, Mr. Ball, Mr. Rooke, Mr. Wren, Mr. Hill. And after the lecture was ended they did, according to the usual manner, withdrawe for mutual converse. When, amongst other matters that were discoursed of, something was offered about a designe of founding a College for the promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimentall Learning; and because they had these frequent occasions of meeting with one another, it was proposed that