Benjamin Worsley (1618–1673) was an English physician,

Surveyor-General of Ireland The office of Surveyor General of Ireland was an appointed officer under the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries.McParland 1995 The Surveyor General was typically responsible for the surveying, design and construc ...

, experimental scientist, civil servant and intellectual figure of Commonwealth England. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, but may not have graduated.Newman and Principe, p. 239. His survey of land in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

was of land claimed by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

under the Act of Settlement. Worsley was from 1651 a physician in Cromwell's army, but took to surveying around 1653. His work was too rough-and-ready to be of practical help to arranging land grants to soldiers, and William Petty took over. He was an alchemical writer, and associate of Robert Boyle, and knew

George Starkey George Starkey (1628–1665) was a Colonial American alchemist, medical practitioner, and writer of numerous commentaries and chemical treatises that were widely circulated in Western Europe and influenced prominent men of science, including Robe ...

from 1650. He was a major figure of the '' Invisible College'' of the 1640s. Worsley associated with the circle around Samuel Hartlib and John Dury, and on their behalf visited

Johann Rudolph Glauber Johann Rudolf Glauber (10 March 1604 – 16 March 1670) was a German-Dutch alchemist and chemist. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineers. His discovery of sodium sulfate in 1625 led to the compo ...

in 1648-9. Worsley followed the theories of Michael Sendivogius and

Clovis Hesteau Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

. He was a

projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...

in the manufacture of saltpeter (1646). Later, probably in the mid-1650s, he wrote ''De nitro theses quaedam''. He also took up the alchemy of

transmutation Transmutation may refer to: Pseudoscience and science Alchemy *Chrysopoeia and argyropoeia, the turning of inexpensive metals, such as lead or copper, into gold and silver * Magnum opus (alchemy), the creation of the philosopher's stone * Menta ...

, with Johann Moriaen and Johannes Sibertus Kuffler. He was also probably heterodox in religion. Christopher Hill, ''Milton and the English Revolution'', p.294.

References

Works cited * William R. Newman and Lawrence M. Principe (2002), ''Alchemy Tried in the Fire'' *J. T. Young (1998), ''Faith, Alchemy and Natural Philosophy: Johann Moriaen, Reformed Intelligencer, and the Hartlib Circle'' *Clericuzio, Antonio, ''New Light on Benjamin Worsley's Natural Philosophy'', in Mark Greengrass, Michael Leslie and Timothy Raylor (eds.), Samuel Hartlib and Universal Reformation: Studies in Intellectual Communication (Cambridge University Press, 1994), 236-46 *Webster, C. (1994) ''Benjamin Worsley: engineering for universal reform from the Invisible College to the Navigation Act'' in Samuel Hartlib and Universal Reformation: Studies in Intellectual Communication (1994) *Thomas Leng (2008) ''Benjamin Worsley (1618-1677): trade, interest and the spirit in revolutionary England'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Benjamin 1618 births 1673 deaths English alchemists 17th-century alchemists