John Chamberlayne facts for kids
John Chamberlayne (born around 1668, died 1723) was an English writer and translator. He also worked for the royal family.
Contents
John Chamberlayne's Story
Early Life and Education
John Chamberlayne was the younger son of Edward Chamberlayne and Susannah Clifford. In 1685, he started studying at Trinity College, Oxford. He was a "commoner," meaning he paid for his own studies.
John left Oxford without finishing his degree. He then went to the University of Leyden in the Netherlands in 1688. There, he focused on learning many different languages. People at the time said he knew as many as sixteen languages!
Working for the Royal Family
When John returned to England, he took on several jobs at the royal court. He was a special helper to Prince George of Denmark. Later, he became a personal assistant to Queen Anne and then to King George I.
He also worked for the Queen Anne's Bounty Commission. This group helped poor church leaders. John was also a local judge in Middlesex. In 1702, he became a member of the Royal Society. This is a famous group for scientists.
John Chamberlayne passed away on November 2, 1723, at his home in Westminster. He was buried in his family's burial ground in Chelsea. A special plaque was placed on the church wall there to remember him.
His Important Writings
John Chamberlayne was a very busy writer and translator. A translator changes books or texts from one language into another.
Translating Big Books
His most important work was translating Gerard Brandt's History of the Reformation in the Low Countries. This was a four-volume book published between 1720 and 1723. It was about big changes in religion in the Netherlands.
John also continued his father's book, Present State of England. This book described what England was like at the time. He published five new versions of it after his father died in 1703. His name even appeared on new editions published after his own death!
He also translated many other books, including:
- Samuel von Pufendorf's History of Popedom, published in 1691.
- The Lord's Prayer into many different languages, called Oratio Dominica, in 1715.
- Bernard Nieuwentyt's Religious Philosopher, a three-volume work from 1718.
- Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle's Lives of the French Philosophers, in 1721.
- Jacques Saurin's Dissertations, which was about important events from the Old and New Testaments, in 1723.
In 1685, he translated a popular book by Philippe Sylvestre Dufour. It was called The Manner of making Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate. This book explained how these drinks were made and used around the world. In 1686, he also translated A Treasure of Health by Castore Durante.
Sharing New Ideas
John Chamberlayne wrote three papers for Philosophical Transactions. This was a well-known science magazine. His papers included:
- A Relation of the Effects of a Storm of Thunder and Lightning at Sampford Courtney in Devonshire on 7 Oct. 1711.
- Remarks on the Plague at Copenhagen in the year 1711.
- An Account of the Sunk Island in Humber.
John was also a member of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge. This group worked to spread Christian teachings. For them, he translated Jean-Frédéric Osterwald's Arguments of the Book and Chapters of the Old and New Testament. This was a three-volume work published in 1716.
