John Locke, 1632–1704—Probably the greatest philosopher in the English language, Locke’s work defined English political thought for more than a century. He was trained as a doctor, before becoming tutor in the family of the Earl of Shaftesbury—a man who was imprisoned for opposition to the government in the 1670s. Locke lived in Holland from 1683 to 1688, when the accession of William III made it safe for him to return. Author of Essay Concerning Toleration, Essay on Human Understanding, Two Treatises on Government. Friend of Anthony Wood and the most successful London doctor of his generation. One of the kernel of the Oxford group that founded the Royal Society but not a member until 1667. Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians 1675, but career damaged by his political affiliations and did not recover properly until the revolution of 1688. Conducted experiments on transfusion in the 1660s, published Tractatus de Corde 1669.
Thomas Lower, 1633–1720—Brother of Richard and Quaker, married stepdaughter of George Fox; imprisoned 1673 and 1686, had interest in Quaker settlements and property in America.
Count Patricio de Moledi—Spanish ambassador to England 1662—67. Known for his learning and courtesy.
John Mordaunt, Baron Mordaunt, 1627–75—Second son of the first earl of Peterborough, sent abroad for his education, then became leading Royalist conspirator. Arrested 1658 and acquitted at his trial. Appointed Constable of Windsor Castle at the Restoration, but was impeached in Parliament in 1666 and never attained high government office. Spent his last years embroiled in a legal dispute with members of his family.
Sir Samuel Morland, 1625–95—Diplomat and inventor, clerk to Secretary of State Thurloe 1654 and accredited by Cromwell to lead mission to Savoy in 1655. Switched sides in 1659 by identifying traitor in Royalist ranks, knighted on the Restoration. Made calculating machine in 1663 and experimented with pumps and early steam engines from the 1660s onwards. Consultant on water supply to Louis XIV at Versailles, 1681.
Jack Prestcott—Fictitious; his story, and that of his father, is based on the disgrace and exile of Sir Richard Willys for treason in 1660. Willys’s son later died insane.
Sir John Russell, d. 1687—Leading member of the “Sealed Knot,” a group of active Royalists in England which plotted ceaselessly and fruitlessly in the 1650s to overthrow Cromwell and bring back the king.
Peter Stahl, d. 1675—“The noted chimist and Rosicru-cian Peter Stahl of Strasburgh in Royal Prussia was a Lutheran and a great hater of women, [and] a very useful man… he was brought to Oxon by Mr Robert Boyle, an. 1659… About the beginning of the year 1663 he removed his elaboratory to a draper’s house in the parish of Allsaints. In the year following, he was called away to London, died there about 1675, and was buried in the church of St Clement Danes.”—Anthony Wood, Life and Times, vol. I, p. 473.
John Thurloe, 1616–68—Lawyer, secretary to the Cromwellian Council of State in 1652; thereafter organized Cromwell’s espionage system. Escaped all punishment on the Restoration and lived in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, until moving back to London shortly before his death. Hid all his state papers, which were discovered embedded in a plaster ceiling and published in the eighteenth century.
John Wallis, 1616–1703—Professor of Geometry at Oxford, founder-member of the Royal Society and the greatest English mathematician before Newton. A great xenophobe, who carried on lengthy and vitriolic disputes in print with (among others) Hobbes, Pascal, Descartes, Fermat. Cryptographer for Parliament, 1643–60, for Charles II, James II and William III. Published Arithmetica Infinitorum 1655, Ma-thesis Universalis 1657, Treatise of Algebra 1685. Complete Sermons published 1791, Essay on the Art of Decyphering, 1737.
Anthony Wood, 1632–95—Antiquary and historian, author of Historia et Antiquitates Universitatis Oxonienses (1674) and Athenae Oxonienses (1691). A bachelor who lived a hermitlike existence and gained a reputation for un-sociability and rancour in his later years, although until the 1660s had a wide range of friends and acquaintances. Chiefly known through his diaries and papers, which were not published until this century.
Michael Woodward, 1599–1675—Warden of New College, Oxford, 1658–75; rector of Ash in Surrey and “a man of few scholarly attainments and fewer political or religious sentiments.” But tireless in restoring the college’s finances after the disastrous loss of revenues during the Civil War.
Sir Christopher Wren, 1632–1723—Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, Surveyor of the King’s Works and architect. Classed by Newton as Wallis’s equal as a geometer, worked on spherical trigonometry, produced a measured map of the moon, was a founder-member of the Royal Society, and performed important anatomical work with Lower and others of the Oxford circle. Mainly known for design of St. Paul’s Cathedral, his London churches and Hampton Court Palace.
Chronology
1625 Death of James I, accession of Charles I.
1629 Charles begins experiment to rule without Parliament.
1640 Parliament recalled; Charles defeated in war against Scotland.
1642 Outbreak of Civil War in England; Charles wins victory over Parliamentary army at Edgehill; Oxford becomes Royalist headquarters.
1644 Battle of Cropredy Bridge, Charles’s army wiped out at Marston Moor.
1645 Battle of Naseby; decisive defeat of Royalists.
1646 Oxford surrenders under siege.
1647 War ends with defeat and capture of Charles.
1648 Visitation of the Universities and purging of Fellows with Royalist sympathies.
1649 Execution of Charles I; Charles II in exile. Establishment of Commonwealth.
1650s Dominance of Oliver Cromwell, “Lord Protector” of England. Boyle, Wallis, and others form the kernel of the Royal Society in Oxford.
1658 Death of Cromwell; brief succession of his son, Richard, as Protector.
1659 Resignation of Richard Cromwell; Parliament recalled; fall of John Thurloe as Secretary of State. Attempt at rising by Royalists crushed.
1660 Recall of Charles II from exile; Earl of Clarendon as Lord Chancellor.
1661 Brief and unsuccessful rising of London Fifth Monarchists. Charles marries Portuguese princess and earns enmity of Spain. Second Purge of Universities.
1662 Acts passed by Parliament to enforce conformity of religion, despite Charles’s desire for tolerance; persecution of Quakers; plots by Spain against Charles.
1663 Perpetual rumors of assassination plots against Charles. Earl of Bristol attempts to impeach Clarendon. Experiments by Richard Lower and Christopher Wren on blood transfusion. Formal foundation of Royal Society.
1667 Fall of Clarendon. Ascendancy of Henry Bennet, Earl of Arlington.
1678 The “Popish plot”—widespread hysteria caused by fictitious accusations that foreign Jesuits were planning massacre of Protestants.
1685 Death of Charles, accession of his Catholic brother, James II.
1688 The “Glorious Revolution”—James expelled, constitutional settlement ensures primacy of Parliament and supremacy of Protestantism.