Sir Robert Moray (alternative spellings: Murrey, Murray) FRS (1608 or 1609 – 4 July 1673) was a
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
Richelieu
Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to:
People
* Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister
* Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal
* Louis François Armand ...
1660 committee of 12
The Gresham College group was a loose collection of scientists in England of the 1640s and 1650s, a precursor to the Royal Society of London. Within a few years of the granting of a charter to the Royal Society in 1662, its earlier history was be ...
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. He was also one of the founders of modern Freemasonry in Great Britain.
Early life and education
Moray was the elder of two sons of a
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
. An uncle, David Moray, had been a personal servant of
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland; and his wife Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuar ...
.
Some 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 two 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
St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...
). Moray's name does not appear in the matriculation records of the university.
In 1633, he joined the '' Garde Écossaise'', a regiment which fought under Colonel John Hepburn in the army of King Louis XIII of France. Moray became a favourite of
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
, who used him as a spy. Richelieu promoted Moray to Lieutenant Colonel and in 1638 sent him to join the
Covenanter
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
army in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. Experienced in
military engineering
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics be ...
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in 1640 in the Second Bishops' War and took Newcastle upon Tyne.
Several Freemasons who were members of the Lodge of Edinburgh initiated him into Freemasonry there on 20 May 1641. Although he was initiated into a Scottish lodge, the event took place south of the border: this is earliest extant record of a man being initiated into speculative Freemasonry on English soil.Cooper, Robert L D, (2006) Cracking the Freemasons Code, pp 120-21 Thereafter, he regularly used the
five pointed star
A five-pointed star (☆), geometrically an equilateral concave decagon, is a common ideogram in modern culture.
Comparatively rare in classical heraldry, it was notably introduced for the flag of the United States in the Flag Act of 1777 and ...
, his masonic mark, on his correspondence.
Political career
Robert Moray returned to France by 1643 and was captured at Tuttlingen in November of that year. Upon his release, and upon the death of James Campbell, 1st Earl of Irvine, Moray took over command of the Garde Écossaise.
Moray helped to persuade the Prince of Wales, the future Charles II, to visit Scotland for his coronation as King of Scots at Scone on 1 January 1651. Charles then invaded England from Scotland, but was defeated at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651, and forced to escape to France.
In Scotland, Moray became Lord Justice Clerk, a
Privy Councillor
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
, and a Lord of Session in 1651. He married Sophia Lindsay, daughter of David Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres, but she died in childbirth on 2 January 1653 and the child was stillborn. Moray joined a Scottish uprising in 1653 which was suppressed by Cromwell, and Moray returned to the continent in 1654. Moray spent time in
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Scienc ...
in 1656, then in Maastricht until 1659, when he joined Charles in Paris.
Founding of the Royal Society
Following the restoration of Charles II, Moray was one of the founders of the Royal Society at its first formal meeting on Wednesday 28 November 1660, at the premises of Gresham College on
Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...
, at which
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
, Gresham Professor of Astronomy, delivered a lecture. The twelve in attendance were an interesting mix of four Royalists ( William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker,
Alexander Bruce, 2nd Earl of Kincardine
Alexander Bruce, 2nd Earl of Kincardine FRS (1629–1681) was a Scottish inventor, politician, judge and freemason, who collaborated with Christiaan Huygens in developing a marine pendulum clock.
His grandfather, Sir George Bruce had built up ...
, Sir
Paul Neile
Sir Paul Neile FRS (1613 – February 1686) was an English astronomer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 and from 1673 to 1677.
Neile was born at Westminster, the son of Richard Neile, later Archbishop of York. He wa ...
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
) and two others with less fixed (or more flexible) views,
Abraham Hill
Abraham Hill Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (19 April 1633 in London – 5 February 1721) was a British merchant.
Life
Hill was baptised on 16 June 1635 at St Dionis Backchurch, London. His father, Richard Hill, a merchantRoyal Charter and formulating its statutes and regulations. Moray was the first President of the society which holds its Annual General Meeting on
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
's Day (30 November) the Patron Saint of Scotland in apparent acknowledgement of Moray's importance in the formation of the society.
Scientific research
Moray made significant contributions to the observation of tidal phenomena. Shortly before the restoration of Charles II, he stayed for several weeks in the remote island of Great Bernera, in the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
, and observed that the normal semidiurnal tide was there combined with tidal streams between the nearby islands that exhibited a strong diurnal motion. Moray reported these "extraordinary tydes" to the Royal Society in 1665, which published them in the first volume of the ''
Philosophical Transactions
''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 ...
''. Nearly 200 passed before Moray's description was confirmed by hydrographic measurements in the Sound of Harris. It was only in 1968 that the phenomenon was satisfactorily explained in terms of the theory of "
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
waves".
In 1666, Moray published ''Considerations and Enquiries concerning Tides''. There he advocated careful quantitative observation of tidal phenomena and proposed, for the first time in the scientific literature, the use of stilling-wells as tide gauges.
Later years
Moray became a Privy Councillor again in February 1661, and was later a Lord of the Exchequer. His younger brother, Sir William Moray, was
Master of Works
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
*Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master, ...
to Charles II. The King granted him an apartment at the
Palace of Whitehall
The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
, where he engaged in chemical experiments. He became a recluse in later life, and, by the time of his death, he was virtually a pauper. He was buried in Westminster Abbey at the order of the King. His grave is unmarked, but his name appears on the stone of Abraham Cowley, near the ashes of
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
and
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of ...
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, ...
.
Legacy
Moray's legacy is just beginning to be appreciated in the country of his birth. In 1969 a masonic lodge of research, Lodge Sir Robert Moray, No.1641, (
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland) was established in his honour.Year Book of the Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland, 2014. p 209