John Conduitt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Conduitt (; c. 8 March 1688 – 23 May 1737), of Cranbury Park, Hampshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician. He sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
from 1721 to 1737. He was married to the half-niece of Sir
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
, whom Conduitt succeeded as
Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between the 16th ...
.


Early life

The son of Leonard and Sarah Conduitt, John was baptised at St Paul's, Covent Garden, London, on 8 March 1688. In June 1701 he was admitted to St Peter's College,
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
, as a King's scholar. In 1705, while at Westminster, he was elected a Queen's scholar to
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, with three others. He was admitted there in June of that year and matriculated to the University, but did not graduate, staying only two years.


Career

By 1707, based on his own account, he was "travelling" in Holland and Germany. In September 1710, he became judge advocate with the British forces in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. He was a "very pretty gentleman" according to James Brydges. From October 1710, he acted as the Earl of Portmore's secretary when the latter arrived in Portugal (N&Q). During this time, he kept the Earl of Dartmouth informed about the Portuguese court. He returned to London by October 1711 with Lord Portmore. During the following year, he was made a captain in a regiment of the dragoons serving in Portugal, but by September 1713 he had been appointed Deputy Paymaster General to the British forces in Gibraltar. Those posts appear to have been remunerative, and in May 1717 he returned home to England a rich man. In 1720, Conduitt acquired the estate and house at
Cranbury Park Cranbury Park is a stately home and country estate situated in the parish of Hursley, Winchester, England. It was formerly the home to Sir Isaac Newton and later to the Chamberlayne family, whose descendants continue to own and occupy the hous ...
, near
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
.


Parliament and Mint

In June 1721, Conduitt was elected, on petition, as a Member of Parliament for
Whitchurch, Hampshire Whitchurch is a town in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, south of Newbury, Berkshire, north of Winchester, east of Andover, Hampshire, Andover and west of Basingstoke. Much of the town is ...
, which he represented during the 1720s as a loyal supporter of
Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...
's Whig government. Conduitt took an active interest in the running of
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
's office of Master of the Mint in the latter years of Newton's life, and after Newton's death in March 1727 Conduitt succeeded him to the post. Isaac Newton having died intestate, Conduitt was appointed by Newton's heirs to serve as executor of Newton's estate. Conduitt collected materials for a life of Newton, some of which he forwarded to
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (; ; 11 February 1657 – 9 January 1757), also called Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle, was a French author and an influential member of three of the academies of the Institut de France, noted especially for his ...
, who used them to prepare Newton's obituary as a foreign member of the
French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
. John Newton, who as his most direct living descendant was heir to Isaac Newton's real estate, had to resort to the Chancery courts to get satisfaction from Conduitt. By the early 1730s, Conduitt had become a relatively prominent parliamentary speaker, defending the government on a number of issues, including Walpole's maintenance of the Septennial Act. In 1734, he was re-elected to his seat, but chose to represent
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. Conduitt, together with fellow MP's Sir John Crosse and George Heathcote, introduced the Witchcraft Act 1735, an enlightened piece of legislation that abolished the death penalty for
witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
. The Act marked the definitive end of witch-hunting in Great Britain, introducing instead a maximum penalty of one year's imprisonment for pretending to exercise magical powers.


Personal life

Shortly after his arrival back in England, he became acquainted with Sir
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
and his half-niece
Catherine Barton Catherine Barton (1679–1739) was an English woman who oversaw the running of the household of her uncle, scientist Isaac Newton. She was reputed to be the source of the story of the apple inspiring Newton's work on gravity, and his papers came ...
. After what must have been a whirlwind romance, they applied to the Faculty Office for a licence, which was granted on 23 August 1717, to marry at St Paul's, Covent Garden. Catherine, then aged 38 years, described herself as 32 years old, Conduitt more correctly as about 30. Despite the licence, they instead married three days later on 26 August in her uncle's parish in the Russell Court Chapel in the church of St Martin in the Fields. Perhaps in an effort to dignify himself for his impending marriage to one of London's famous daughters, Conduitt obtained for himself a grant of arms from the College of Heralds on 16 August. The couple had one daughter, named after her mother, born 23 May 1721 and baptised in the same parish of St Martin's on 8 June. Partly as a result of his antiquarian interests, Conduitt was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
on 1 December 1718, proposed by the president, and his uncle by marriage, Sir Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac Newton took up residence at Cranbury with his niece and her husband until his death in 1727 towards the end of his life.


Death and descendants

Conduitt died on 23 May 1737 at age 49, and was buried on 29 May in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
, next to Sir Isaac Newton.'The Abbey Scientists' Hall, A.R. p12: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966 His wife Catherine died in 1739 and was buried with him. In his will, dated 1732, he had left his estate to his wife and made her guardian of their underage daughter Catherine. Upon his death, the trustees sold the estate at Cranbury Park as well as estates at
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...
and Netley, near
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, to
Thomas Lee Dummer Thomas Lee Dummer ( – 6 October 1765) was an English Member of Parliament for Southampton (1737–1741) and Newport (Isle of Wight) (1765–1768). Family Dummer's uncle, Edmund Dummer (1663–1724), was a lawyer who was appointed a Clerk ...
, who succeeded Conduitt as MP for Southampton. In 1740 his daughter Catherine married John Wallop, Viscount Lymington, the eldest son of the Earl of Portsmouth. Catherine's son John Wallop succeeded his grandfather to the peerage.


References

*''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' *


External links

*
The Condy/Condie Surname
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conduitt, John 1688 births 1737 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Isaac Newton Masters of the Mint Burials at Westminster Abbey Fellows of the Royal Society