Sir Robert Moray (alternative spellings: Murrey, Murray) FRS (1608 or 1609 – 4 July 1673) was a Scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, and

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the developme ...

. He was well known to Charles I and Charles II, and to 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 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 ...

, and was influential in gaining its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

and formulating its statutes and regulations. He was also one of the founders of modern

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in Great Britain.

Early life and education

Moray was the elder of two sons of a

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

, Sir Mungo Moray of Craigie. His grandfather was

Robert Moray Sir Robert Moray (alternative spellings: Murrey, Murray) FRS (1608 or 1609 – 4 July 1673) was a Scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, and natural philosopher. He was well known to Charles I and Charles II, and to the French ...

of Abercairny (near

Crieff Crieff (; , meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth, Scotland, Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 road, A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy, Scotland, Aberfeldy. The A822 road, A822 joins ...

), and his mother was a daughter of George Halket of Pitfirran,

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

. An uncle, David Moray, had been a personal servant of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. Some biographers have claimed that Moray attended the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

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 (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ 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 fourth-largest settleme ...

). 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 Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

of France. Moray became a

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

, who used him as a spy. Richelieu promoted Moray to Lieutenant Colonel and in 1638 sent him to join the

Covenanter Covenanters 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. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

army in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. 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 b ...

, he was appointed quartermaster-general in the Scottish Army that invaded

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1640 in the Second Bishops' War and took

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. Several Freemasons who were members of the Lodge of Edinburgh initiated him into

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, 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 A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

King of Scots The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

Scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

on 1 January 1651. Charles then invaded England from Scotland, but was defeated at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in September 1651, and forced to escape to France. In Scotland, Moray became

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

, a Privy Councillor, 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 ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

in 1656, then in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

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

at its first formal meeting on Wednesday 28 November 1660, at the premises of

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

, at which

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

, Gresham Professor of Astronomy, delivered a lecture. The twelve in attendance were an interesting mix of four Royalists (

William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker FRS ( – 5 April 1684) was an Anglo-Irish peer and mathematician who served as the president of the Royal Society from 1662 to 1677. Best known for introducing Brouncker's formula, he also worked a ...

, Alexander Bruce, 2nd Earl of Kincardine, Sir Paul Neile, William Balle) and six Parliamentarians (

John Wilkins John Wilkins (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an English Anglican ministry, Anglican clergyman, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1 ...

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...

, Jonathan Goddard,

William Petty Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth in Cromwellian conquest of I ...

, Lawrence Rook,

) and two others with less fixed (or more flexible) views, Abraham Hill and Moray. Moray was influential in gaining the new society its

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 ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

'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 ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

, 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 second journ ...

''. Nearly 200 years 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 islan ...

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 gauge A tide gauge is a device for measuring the change in sea level relative to a vertical datum. It is also known as a mareograph, marigraph, and sea-level recorder. When applied to freshwater continental water body, water bodies, the instrument may ...

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 to Charles II. The King granted him an apartment at the

Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

, 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 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 ...

at the order of the King. His grave is unmarked, but his name appears on the stone of

Abraham Cowley Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721. Early ...

, 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 w ...

and

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...

, in

Poets' Corner Poets' Corner is a section of the southern transept of Westminster Abbey in London, England, where many poets, playwrights, and writers are buried or commemorated. The first poet interred in Poets' Corner was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400. Willia ...

. Moray had a range of notable friends: James Gregory,

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

, Thomas Vaughan,

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

and Gilbert Burnet.

Legacy

Moray's legacy is just beginning to be appreciated in the country of his birth. In 1969 a

masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodge of

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

, Lodge Sir Robert Moray, No.1641, (

, Scotland) was established in his honour.Year Book of the Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland, 2014. p 209

References

External links

"Sir Robert Moray - Soldier, scientist, spy, freemason and founder of The Royal Society"
lecture by Dr Robert Lomas at

, 4 April 2007
London Region archives
, AIM25
Fellow of the month, November 2005 - Sir Robert Moray
from the

The first recorded initiation in England
Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon *
"Moray, Robert"
Entry in 'The Scotland, Scandinavia and Northern European Biographical Database (SSNE)' published by

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moray, Robert 1600s births 1673 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Covenanters Founder fellows of the Royal Society Scottish Freemasons French spies Garde Écossaise officers 17th-century Scottish scientists Philosophers of science Scottish spies Scottish diplomats Scottish chemists Senators of the College of Justice Members of the Privy Council of Scotland People from Perth and Kinross Burials at Westminster Abbey Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland Lords Justice Clerk 17th-century Scottish judges 17th-century soldiers 17th-century spies