Robert Payne (natural philosopher) facts for kids

Robert Payne (born around 1596, died around 1651) was an English church leader and a smart person who worked at a university. He was also known as a natural philosopher, which means he studied nature and the world using science. He liked to do experiments.

Payne worked closely with a powerful person named William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Newcastle. He was Newcastle's chaplain, which is like a personal assistant and religious advisor. This job also made him good friends with another famous thinker, Thomas Hobbes.

Robert Payne's Life Story

Early Life and Education

Robert Payne was born in a town called Abingdon-on-Thames. He went to a school there called John Roysse's Free School, which is now known as Abingdon School.

In 1611, he started studying at Christ Church, Oxford, a college at Oxford University. He earned his first degree in 1614. Later, in 1624, he became a Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford. This meant he was a senior member of the college.

Working with Important People

In 1630, Robert Payne started working for the Earl of Newcastle. He became the rector (a type of church leader) in a place called Tormarton.

Payne also started exchanging letters about math with Charles Cavendish, who was the Earl's brother. This led him to leave his university job. By 1632, he was working as a chaplain at Welbeck Abbey, the Earl's home. He had many different jobs there, including being a secretary. This time was very important for his ideas and studies. However, this period ended in 1638 when the Earl took on the job of looking after the Prince of Wales.

Later Years and Challenges

After leaving Welbeck Abbey, Payne went back to Oxford. He worked as a canon (another church role) at Christ Church from 1638 to 1648. He earned a higher degree, D.D., in 1642.

During the First English Civil War, things became difficult. Payne tried to share the ideas of his friend Thomas Hobbes in Oxford. He also tried to help reduce problems with another important person, Gilbert Sheldon. In 1648, a group from Parliament took away his job at the college. Robert Payne spent his last years living with his family in Abingdon.

Robert Payne's Work and Ideas

Robert Payne didn't publish many books during his lifetime. Most of his important work was left in handwritten notes.

Experiments and Discoveries

In the 1630s, he did some chemistry experiments with the Earl of Newcastle. The Earl later talked about one experiment that used a mix of saltpetre and brimstone (sulfur). This mix was used to create a type of indoor firework.

Translations of Famous Works

Payne was also a translator. In 1636, he translated a book by the famous scientist Galileo called Della scienza mecanica from Italian into English. The year before, he had translated part of another book about how water flows, written by Benedetto Castelli. He got the original handwritten copies of these works from a French scholar named Marin Mersenne. He did this translation work for Charles Cavendish.

Hidden Contributions

Today, experts still discuss which old handwritten papers from the Cavendish group were actually written by Payne. It's tricky because he also copied other people's writings. For example, a short paper called Short Tract on First Principles was first thought to be by Thomas Hobbes. But now, some experts like Timothy Raylor and Noel Malcolm believe it was written by Robert Payne. This shows that Payne might have had a bigger influence than people first thought!

See also

• List of Old Abingdonians