John Theophilus Desaguliers
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John Theophilus Desaguliers FRS (12 March 1683 – 29 February 1744) was a British natural philosopher, clergyman, engineer and
freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
who was elected to the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1714 as experimental assistant to
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
. He had studied at Oxford and later popularized Newtonian theories and their practical applications in public lectures. Desaguliers's most important patron was James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. As a Freemason, Desaguliers was instrumental in the success of the first Grand Lodge in London in the early 1720s and served as its third Grand Master.


Biography


Early life and education

Desaguliers was born in
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
, several months after his father Jean Desaguliers, a Protestant minister, had been exiled as a Huguenot by the French government. Jean Desaguliers was ordained as an Anglican by Bishop Henry Compton of London, and sent to Guernsey. Meanwhile, the baby was baptised Jean Théophile Desaguliers in the Protestant Temple in La Rochelle, and he and his mother then escaped to join Jean in Guernsey. In 1692 the family moved to London where Jean Desaguliers later set up a French school in Islington. He died in 1699. His son, who now used the anglicised name John Theophilus, attended
Bishop Vesey's Grammar School Bishop Vesey's Grammar School (BVGS) is a selective state grammar school with academy status in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. Founded in 1527, it is one of the oldest schools in Britain, the oldest state school in the West Midlands and th ...
in Sutton Coldfield until 1705 when he entered
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
and followed the usual classical curriculum and graduated BA in 1709. He also attended lectures by
John Keill John Keill FRS (1 December 1671 – 31 August 1721) was a Scottish mathematician, natural philosopher, and cryptographer who was an important defender of Isaac Newton. Biography Keill was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 1 December 1671. His f ...
, who used innovative demonstrations to illustrate difficult concepts of Newtonian natural philosophy. When Keill left Oxford in 1709 Desaguliers continued giving the lectures at Hart Hall, the forerunner of
Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...
. He obtained a master's degree there in 1712. In 1719 Oxford granted him the honorary degree of Doctor in Civil Laws, after which he was often referred to as Dr Desaguliers. His doctorate was incorporated by Cambridge University in 1726. Desaguliers was ordained as a deacon in 1710, at
Fulham Palace Fulham Palace, in Fulham, London, previously in the former English county of Middlesex, is a Grade I listed building with medieval origins and was formerly the principal residence of the Bishop of London. The site was the country home of the ...
, and as a priest in 1717, at
Ely Palace Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
in London.


Lecturer and promoter of Newtonian experimental philosophy

In 1712 Desaguliers moved back to London and advertised courses of public lectures in Experimental Philosophy. He was not the first to do this, but became the most successful, offering to speak in English, French or Latin. By the time of his death he had given over 140 courses of some 20 lectures each on mechanics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, optics and astronomy. He kept his lectures up to date, published notes for his auditors, and designed his own apparatus, including a renowned planetarium to demonstrate the solar system, and a machine to explain tidal motion. In 1717 Desaguliers lodged at
Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
and lectured in French to King George I and his family.


Demonstrator at the Royal Society

In 1714
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
, President of the Royal Society, invited Desaguliers to replace
Francis Hauksbee Francis Hauksbee the Elder FRS (1660–1713), also known as Francis Hawksbee, was an 18th-century English scientist best known for his work on electricity and electrostatic repulsion. Biography Francis Hauksbee was the son of draper and common c ...
(1660 – 1713) as demonstrator at the Society's weekly meetings; he was soon thereafter made a Fellow of the Royal Society. Desaguliers promoted Newton's ideas and maintained the scientific nature of the meetings when
Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...
took over the Presidency after Newton died in 1727. Desaguliers contributed over 60 articles to the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...
. He received the Society's prestigious
Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
in 1734, 1736 and 1741. The last award was for his summary of knowledge to date on the phenomenon of electricity. He had worked on this with Stephen Gray, who at one time lodged at the Desaguliers' home. Desaguliers's "Dissertation concerning Electricity" (1742), in which he coined the terms conductor and insulator, was awarded a gold medal by the Bordeaux Academy of Sciences.


Patronage of the Duke of Chandos

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos appointed Desaguliers as his chaplain in 1716, but probably as much for his scientific expertise as his ecclesiastic duties. He was also gifted
the living ''The Living'' is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Jack Bryan. It stars Fran Kranz, Jocelin Donahue, Kenny Wormald, Chris Mulkey, and Joelle Carter. Teddy (Kranz) learns he has beaten his wife, Molly (Donahue), in a drunken rag ...
of St Lawrence Church, Little Stanmore, which was close to the Duke's mansion called
Cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...
, then under construction at nearby Edgware. The church was rebuilt in the baroque style in 1715. As the chapel at Cannons was not completed until 1720, the church was the location of first performances of the so-called '' Chandos Anthems'' by
George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...
who was, in 1717/18, like Desaguliers, a member of the Duke's household. The Cannons estate benefited from Desaguliers' scientific expertise which was applied to the elaborate water garden there. He was also technical adviser to an enterprise in which Chandos had invested, the
York Buildings Company The York Buildings Company was an English company in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Waterworks The full name of the company was The Governor and Company for raising the Thames Water at York Buildings. The undertaking was established in ...
, which used steam-power to extract water from the Thames. In 1718 Desaguliers dedicated to the Duke his translation of
Edme Mariotte Edme Mariotte (; ; c. 162012 May 1684) was a French physicist and priest ( abbé). He is particularly well known for formulating Boyle's law independently of Robert Boyle. Mariotte is also credited with designing the first Newton's cradle. Biogr ...
's treatise on the motion of water. It is perhaps no coincidence that in the summer of 1718 Handel composed his opera ''Acis and Galatea'' for performance at Cannons. In this work the hero Acis is turned into a fountain, and since, by tradition, the work was first performed outside on the terraces overlooking the garden, a connection with Desaguliers' new water works seems probable. Desaguliers advised the Duke of Chandos on many projects and appears to have been distracted from his parochial duties by his other interests. The Duke once complained that there were unreasonable delays in burying the dead but this was attributed to the curate who was left in charge of the church.


Engineering interests

Desaguliers applied his knowledge to practical applications. As well as his interest in steam engines and hydraulic engineering (in 1721 he cured a problem in the Edinburgh city water supply) he developed expertise in ventilation. He devised a more efficient fireplace which was used in the House of Lords and also invented the blowing wheel which removed stale air from the House of Commons for many years. Desaguliers studied the movements made by the human body when working as a machine. He befriended the strong man,
Thomas Topham Thomas Topham (c. 1710 – 10 August 1749), of London, was a famous strongman of the 18th century. Life Topham was the son of a carpenter who apprenticed him to his own trade. In early life he was landlord of the Red Lion Inn, near old St. Luke's ...
, and although there is no firm evidence that he used Topham as a body guard, Desaguliers recorded several of the feats that he performed. Desaguliers was a parliamentary adviser to the board concerned with the first
Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...
. This much-needed second crossing of the Thames was not completed until 1750, after his death, but construction work resulted in the demolition of Desaguliers's home in Channel Row. Desaguliers also made significant contributions to the field of
tribology Tribology is the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative Motion (physics), motion. It includes the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear. Tribology is highly interdisciplinary, drawing on m ...
. He was the first to recognise the possible role of
adhesion Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or surfaces to cling to one another ( cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles/surfaces to cling to one another). The forces that cause adhesion and cohesion can be ...
in the
friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...
process. For this contribution, he was named by
Duncan Dowson Duncan Dowson (31 August 1928 – 6 January 2020) was a British engineer and Professor of Engineering Fluid Mechanics and Tribology at the University of Leeds. Biography Dowson's father, Wilfrid Dowson, was an ornamental blacksmith, and as ...
as one of the 23 "Men of Tribology".


Freemasonry

Desaguliers was a member of the Lodge which met at the Goose and Gridiron tavern. This Lodge, later known as the "Lodge of Antiquity", joined with three others lodges on 24 June 1717 to form what would become the Premier Grand Lodge of England. The new Grand Lodge grew rapidly as more lodges joined and Desaguliers is remembered as being instrumental in its early success. He became the third Grand Master in 1719 and was later three times Deputy Grand Master. He helped
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
draw up the rules in the "Constitutions of the Freemasons", published in 1723, and he was active in the establishment of masonic charity. During a lecture trip to the Netherlands in 1731 Desaguliers initiated into Freemasonry Francis, Duke of Lorraine (1708 – 65) who later became
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
. Desaguliers also presided when
Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...
, became a Freemason in 1731, and he additionally became a chaplain to the Prince.


Family

On 14 October 1712 John Theophilus Desaguliers married Joanna Pudsey, daughter of William and Anne Pudsey of Kidlington, near Oxford. For most of their married life the couple lived at Channel Row, Westminster where Desaguliers gave the majority of his lectures. When forced to leave due to work on Westminster Bridge they separated and John Theophilus took lodgings at the Bedford Coffee House in Covent Garden and carried on his lectures there. The Desaguliers had four sons and three daughters, for most of whom they acquired aristocratic godparents, but only two children survived beyond infancy: John Theophilus jnr (1718–1751) graduated from Oxford, became a clergyman, and died childless, while
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
(1721–1780) had a distinguished military career in the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
, rising to the rank of General. He became chief firemaster at the Arsenal, Woolwich, and seems to have been the first to be employed by the English army to apply scientific principles to the production of cannon and the powers of gunnery, for which he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. It was
Thomas Desaguliers Lieutenant-General Thomas Desaguliers (5 January 1721 – 1 March 1780) was a British Army general and a Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery. Biography Desaguliers was born 5 January 1721, the youngest son of Dr. John Theophilus Desagul ...
who in part designed and supervised the fireworks for the first performance of Handel's
Music for the Royal Fireworks The ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' ( HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. The ...
in Green Park. He later became an equerry to King George III.


Final years

John Theophilus Desaguliers had long suffered from
gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
. He died at his lodgings in the Bedford Coffee House on 29 February 1744 and was buried on 6 March 1744 in a prestigious location within the
Savoy Chapel The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy, is a church in the City of Westminster, London. Facing it are 111 Strand, the Savoy Hotel, the Institution of Engineering and Te ...
in London. The chapel was probably chosen for its Huguenot associations and in memory of Desaguliers's origins. The press announcements of his death referred to him as 'a gentleman universally known and esteemed'. In his will Desaguliers left his estate to his elder son who organised the publication of the second edition of his "Course of Experimental Philosophy". Although never a wealthy man, he did not die in poverty as suggested by the oft-quoted but inaccurate lines of the poet
James Cawthorn James Cawthorn (sometimes spelt Cawthorne) was born in Sheffield on 4 November 1719 and died in Tonbridge on 15 April 1761. A school master in holy orders, he was a minor English poet and imitator of Alexander Pope. Life James Cawthorn was the ...
: How poor neglected Desaguiliers fell!
How he who taught two gracious kings to view
All
Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
ennobled, and all
Bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...
knew,
Died in a cell, without a friend to save,
Without a guinea, and without a grave.
These are taken from a long poem entitled "The Vanity of Human Enjoyment" (1749) in which the poet attempted to draw attention to the general lack of funding for men of science and not Desaguliers in particular.


Portraits

There are two known engravings, by Peter Pelham and by James Tookey, taken from a lost portrait of Desaguliers painted in about 1725 by
Hans Hysing Hans Huyssing or Hans Hysing (1678–1752 or 1753) was a Swedish- born portrait painter. Biography Hysing was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and apprenticed to a goldsmith before studying portrait painting under David von Krafft. Hysing went t ...
, and an engraving by R. Scaddon of a
Thomas Frye Thomas Frye (c. 1710 – 3 April 1762) was an Anglo-Irish artist, best known for his portraits in oil and pastel, including some miniatures and his early mezzotint engravings. He was also the patentee of the Bow porcelain factory, London, ...
painting, also apparently lost, which showed the subject as an old man in 1743. An engraving by Etienne-Jehandier Desrochers was almost certainly made in 1735 when Desaguliers was on his only visit to Paris. There is also an oil attributed to Jonathan Richardson.


Publications

Desaguliers wrote on many topics for the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...
, produced several editions of notes for the auditors of his lectures and wrote occasional poetry. He translated technical works from French and Latin into English, often adding his own comments. His own Course of Experimental Philosophy was translated into Dutch and French


Some original works

* ''A Sermon Preach’d before the King at Hampton Court'' (London, 1717) * ''The Newtonian System of the World, the Best Model of Government: An Allegorical Poem'' (Westminster, 1728) * ''A Course of Experimental Philosophy'', 1st edition, Vol I (London, 1734) and Vol II (London 1744) * ''A Dissertation Concerning Electricity'' (London, 1742)


Some translations

* Ozanam, Jacques, ''A Treatise of Fortification'', (Oxford, 1711) * Ozanam, Jacques, ''A Treatise of Gnomonicks, or Dialling'', (Oxford, 1712) * Gauger, Nicolas, ''Fires Improv’d: Being a New Method of Building Chimneys'', (London, 1st ed., 1715; 2nd ed., 1736) * Mariotte, Edmé, ''The Motion of Water and other Fluids, being a Treatise on Hydrostaticks'', (London, 1718) * 'sGravesande, Willem, ''Mathematical Elements of Natural Philosophy Confirmed by Experiment, or an Introduction to Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophy'' (London, 1720) * Pitcairn, Archibald, ''The Whole Works of Dr Archibald Pitcairn'' (treatise on physic translated from Latin in collaboration with George Sewell) (2nd ed., London, 1727). * Vaucanson, Jacques, ''An Account of the Mechanism of an Automaton'', (London, 1742)


See also

*
Electric charge Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes charged matter to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field. Electric charge can be ''positive'' or ''negative'' (commonly carried by protons and electrons respe ...
* Development of a practical steam engine *
Direct bonding Direct bonding, or fusion bonding, describes a wafer bonding process without any additional intermediate layers. The bonding process is based on chemical bonds between two surfaces of any material possible meeting numerous requirements. These requir ...
*
Dynamometer A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for simultaneously measuring the torque and rotational speed ( RPM) of an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover so that its instantaneous power may be calculated, and usually displayed by ...
*
Ventilation (architecture) Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a space. Ventilation is mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants; it can also be used to control indoor temperature, humidity, and air m ...


References


Further reading

* Baker, C. H. Collins, and Baker, Muriel (1949) ''James Brydges First Duke of Chandos'' Oxford: Clarendon Press * Berman, Ric (2012) ''Foundations of Modern Freemasonry: The Grand Architects: Political Change & the Scientific Enlightenment, 1714–1740'' (Sussex Academic Press), Chapter 2.
Campbell, James W.P. (2020), "The Significance of John Theophilus Desaguliers's ''Course of Experimental Philosophy'' to the History of Hydraulics and what it reveals about the first Pump-Driven Fountains", pp.331-347 in James W.P. Campbell, Nina Baker, Karey Draper, Michale Driver, Michael Heaton, Yiting Pan, Natcha Ruamsanitwong and David Yeomans (eds.), ''Iron, Steel and Buildings: Studies in the History of Construction: The Proceedings of the Seventh Conference of the Construction History Society'', Cambridge: Construction History Society.
* Carpenter, A. T., (2011), ''John Theophilus Desaguliers: A Natural Philosopher, Engineer and Freemason in Newtonian England'', (London: Continuum/Bloomsbury), ; * Mackey, Albert G. (1966), ''An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry'', reprint edition, (Chicago:, The Masonic History Company). * Priestley, Joseph (1769), ''The History and Present State of Electricity: With Original Experiments'' (Google eBook), pp 61–67
accessed 12 May 2014
* Stephens, H. M. (2004) Desaguliers, Thomas (1721–1780), rev. Jonathan Spain, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 12 May 2014


External links




British Journal of Psychology
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desaguliers, John Theophilus 1683 births 1744 deaths People from La Rochelle Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English chaplains 18th-century British inventors English physicists English scientists French–English translators Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal English male writers Grand Masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England French emigrants to the Kingdom of England Guernsey people People from Islington (district) Tribologists