Virtuoso by Nature : the Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby FRS
Subtitle: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby FRS
Publisher: BRILL; Brill Academic Pub; Brill
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 400
ISBN-13: 9789004285316
Subjects: Natural history, great britain; Science, great britain
Description: Francis Willughby, together with John Ray revolutionized the study of natural history. Together they were motivated by the new philosophy of the mid 1600s and transformed natural history in to a rigorous area of study. Because Ray lived longer and more of his writings have survived, his reputation subsequently eclipsed that of Willughby. Now, with access to previously unexplored archives and new discoveries we are able to provide a comprehensive evaluation of Francis Willughby's life and works. What emerges is a polymath, a true virtuoso, who made original and imaginative contributions to mathematics, chemistry, linguistics as well as natural history. We use Willughby's short life as a lens through which to view the entire process of seventeenth-century scientific endeavor.