Scientific virtuoso: Hooke 1655–1687

Abstract

Robert Hooke’s four decade-long scientific career is inseparable from the Royal Society of London, to which he devoted his entire scientific life.1) The Society was the vehicle through which he became a natural philosopher, and in many respects it made possible his other important career, as surveyor, builder, and architect, however much those two careers conflicted with each other. Although Hooke’s scientific life began in Oxford when he was not yet 20, little is known of his activities until 1658, when he first appears on the books of Christ Church College, despite the fact that he spent as much as nine years there, between about 1653 and 1662.2) This was a crucial formative period for the young Hooke, who arrived at Oxford straight from Westminster School and the tutelage of Dr. Busby, but left nearly a decade later as a maturing young scientist3) to become the Royal Society’s Curator of experiments. Thus began Hooke’s career as effectively the first professional scientist.