Richard Waller

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Engraving by T. Murray after a painting by Godfrey Kneller (1711)
Frontispiece from Essays of Natural Experiments (1684)
Tabula Colorum Physiologica, 1686

Richard Waller (* around 1650 ; † 1715 ) was an English naturalist , translator and illustrator who worked for the Royal Society for a long time .

Live and act

Nothing certain is known about Richard Waller's origins and training. His assumed origin from Horsham and a 1667 allegedly passed Baccalaureus Artium degree from Christ's College in Cambridge go back to a mistake with another person of the same name.

On April 27, 1681 Waller was accepted as a member of the Royal Society at the suggestion of William Croone (1633-1684) . From 1687 to 1709 and from 1710 to 1714 he was her secretary. In 1684 and from 1686 to 1699 he was a member of their council. From 1691 to 1693 Waller was editor of the Philosophical Transactions . For the Philosophical Transactions he translated numerous contributions that the Royal Society received from abroad.

In 1682, Waller began at the suggestion of Sir John Hoskins (1634-1705) with the translation of the collection of essays Saggi di naturali esperienze published in 1667 by the Accademia del Cimento , which appeared two years later as Essays of Natural Experiments and which were among the most significant early publications the Royal Society counts. A translation actually assigned to him of Claude Perrault's Memoirs pour servir a l'histoire naturelle des Animaux (1671–1676) was finally carried out by his brother-in-law Alexander Pitfield (1658? –1728) and only contained his translation The Measure of the Earth in the appendix . For both works he designed the frontispiece and carried out the engraving of the illustrations. The Royal Society archives contain some of his plant illustrations that may have been intended for a work by John Ray . In 1705 Waller published some posthumous writings by Robert Hooke , which he introduced with a biographical sketch.

Richard Waller believed to have died in Northaw, Hertfordshire , where he lived for many years. His death can be narrowed down to the period between December 23, 1714, when he last attended a meeting of the Royal Society, and January 13, 1715, when his death was announced.

Fonts

Contributions to the Philosophical Transactions
  • Observations on the Cicindela Volans, or Flying Glow-Worm, with the Figure Thereof Made, and Dsiegned by Richard Waller Esq. F. of the RS Volume 15, 1685, pp. 841-845, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1685.0003 .
  • A Catalog of Simple and Mixt Colors, with a Specimen of Each Color Prefix to Its Proper Name . Volume 16, 1686, pp. 24-32, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1686.0005 .
  • Some Observations Made on the Spawn of Frogs, and of the Production of Todpoles therein . Volume 16, 1686, pp. 523-524, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1686.0096 .
  • Observations in the Dissection of a Paroquet . Volume 18, 1694, pp. 153-157, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1694.0031 .
  • Some Observations Sent from the East Indies; Being in Answer to Some Queries Sent Thither . Volume 20, 1698, pp. 273-277, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1698.0053 .
  • Part of a letter from Richard Waller, Esq; S RS to Dr. Hans Sloane, RS Secr. concerning Two Deaf Persons, Who can Speak and Understand What is Said to Them by the Motion of the Lips . Volume 25, 1706, pp. 2468-2469, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1706.0060 .
  • A Description of That Curious Natural Machine, the Wood-Peckers Tongue, etc. Volume 29, 1714, pp. 509-522, doi: 10.1098 / rstl.1714.0067 .
As translator
  • Essayes of Natural Experiments made in the Academie del Cimento . Benjamin Alsop, London 1684, (online) .
  • The Measure of the Earth In: Perrault Claude: Memoir's for a natural history of animals: containing the anatomical descriptions of several creatures dissected by the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris . 1688, (online) .
As editor
  • The posthumous works of Robert Hooke . London 1705, (online) .

proof

  • Luciano Boschiero: Translation, Experimentation and the Spring of the Air: Richard Waller's Essayes of Natural Experiments . In: Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London . Volume 64, number 1, 2010, pp. 67-83, doi: 10.1098 / rsnr.2009.0026
  • Margaret JM Ezell: Richard Waller, SRS: "In the Pursuit of Nature" . In: Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London . Volume 38, 1984, pp. 215-233, doi: 10.1098 / rsnr.1984.0013 .
  • HG Lyons: Richard Waller (About 1650 to 1715) . In: Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London . Volume 3, 1940, pp. 92-94, doi: 10.1098 / rsnr.1940.0010 .
  • Lotte Mulligan: Waller, Richard (c.1660-1715) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2008, doi: 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 48707 , (accessed February 13, 2011).

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Waller, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English naturalist, translator and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH 17th century
DATE OF DEATH 1715