Sir Richard Vyvyan, 8th Baronet facts for kids

Sir Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan (born June 6, 1800 – died August 15, 1879) was an important English landowner and politician. He was a member of the Tory party and served in the British Parliament at different times between 1825 and 1857. He was also very interested in science.

A Look at Sir Richard's Life

Richard Vyvyan was born in Trelowarren, a place in Cornwall, England. His father was Sir Vyell Vyvyan, who was the 7th Baronet. His mother was Mary Hutton Rawlinson.

He went to Harrow School and then to Christ Church, Oxford university. However, he did not finish his degree there. In 1820, when his father passed away, Richard became the 8th Baronet. This meant he inherited his family's special title and their lands. He also became a leader in the Cornwall yeomanry cavalry, a type of local military group.

When Sir Richard died, he owned a lot of land. It was about 9,738 acres across 25 different areas in Cornwall. He did not have any children. So, his cousin, Sir Vyell Donnithorne Vyvyan, 9th Baronet, inherited his title and lands.

Sir Richard's Political Career

In 1825, Sir Richard Vyvyan was chosen to be a Member of Parliament (MP) for Cornwall. An MP is someone elected to represent a group of people in the British Parliament. He held this job until 1831.

After that, he represented Okehampton in Parliament. Then, after a big change in voting rules called the Reform Act 1832, he moved to represent Bristol. He was an MP for Bristol until 1837. Later, from 1841 to 1857, he served as the MP for Helston. In 1840, he also held the important local role of High Sheriff of Cornwall.

Sir Richard's Scientific Work

Sir Richard Vyvyan was very interested in science. In 1826, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very respected group for scientists. He was chosen because of his knowledge in literature and natural history. Before that, he was also a Fellow of the Geological Society, which focuses on the study of Earth.

He also supported a scientist named Charles Thomas Pearce. Sir Richard hired Pearce as his secretary around 1843. Together, they studied things like light, heat, and magnetism from the Moon's rays for many years. From 1846 to 1848, they even lived in a house together in London called St. Dunstan's Villa.

Ideas on Evolution

Sir Richard Vyvyan believed in ideas similar to Lamarckian evolution. This was an early idea about how living things change over time, suggesting that traits gained during an animal's life could be passed on. He also believed in the "transmutation of species," which means one type of animal could change into another.

For a while, people thought he wrote a famous book called Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. This book talked about evolution. However, Sir Richard said he did not write it. A historian named Pietro Corsi said that Sir Richard supported these early ideas about how species change.

Scientific Writings

Sir Richard wrote several books and papers about his scientific ideas:

• An Essay on Arithmo-physiology, printed in 1825.
• Psychology, or a Review of the Arguments in proof of the Existence and Immortality of the Animal Soul, volume 1, published in 1831. This book was quickly taken back after it was released.
• The Harmony of the Comprehensible World (published without his name), in 1842 and again in 1845.

He also published many letters and speeches. For example, he wrote a letter to judges in Berkshire about how they treated prisoners. This letter was so important that it was printed a second time in 1845. He also wrote about a special ancient cave called a fogou at Halligey, which was near his home. This writing appeared in the Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall.