Robert Moray
| Sir Robert Moray | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1608 or 1609 birthplace unknown (probably Craigie, Perthshire) |
| Died | 1673 London |
| Residence | Scotland, France, England, Bavaria, Netherlands, Flanders |
| Citizenship | Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Fields | chemistry, magnetism, metallurgy, mineralogy, natural history, pharmacology, applied technology (fishing, lumbering, mining, shipbuilding, watermills, windmills) |
| Alma mater |
University of St Andrews (disputed) possibly a university in France |
| Known for | persuaded Charles II to grant the Royal Society a royal charter |
| Influences | Cebes, Constantijn Huygens |
| Influenced | Alexander Bruce, James Gregory, Christiaan Huygens, Thomas Vaughan |
| Notes | |
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fluent in French, German, Dutch and Italian, Moray conducted a vast correspondence with the scientific community throughout western Europe and North America; often resolving disputes with his diplomatic skills
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Sir Robert Moray (alternative spellings: Murrey, Murray) (1608 or 1609 – 4 July 1673) was a Scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, freemason and natural philosopher. He was well known to Charles I and Charles II, and the French cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. He attended the meeting of the 1660 committee of 12 on 28 November 1660 that led to the formation of the Royal Society, and was influential in gaining its Royal Charter and formulating its statutes and regulations.
Moray was the elder of two sons of a Perthshire laird, Sir Mungo Moray of Craigie. His grandfather was Robert Moray of Abercairney (near Crieff), and his mother was a daughter of George Halket of Pitfirran, Dunfermline. An uncle, David Moray, had been a personal servant of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.
Biographers have claimed that Moray attended the University of St Andrews and continued his university education in France, however, Moray himself wrote to his friend Alexander Bruce (who probably had attended St Andrews), jocularly proposing a debate between the 2 men, in which Moray said he would force Bruce to "rub up your St Andrews language", and "one may give you your hands full that was scarcely ever farrer East then Cowper" (Cupar lies several miles to the west of St Andrews). Moray's name does not appear in the matriculation records of the university.
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