William Derham (1657-1735)

Rector of Upminster, Essex, meteorologist who first calculated the speed of sound, and author of works of natural theology, especially Physico-theology: or, a demonstration of the being and attributes of God, from His works of creation (1713).

Personal Information

Name: William Derham

Date and Place of Birth: 26 November 1657, Stoulton, Worcestershire, England

Date and Place of Death: 5 April 1735, Upminster, Essex, England

Spouse: Anna Scott (b. c. 1675)

Church: Church of England

Highest Rank in Church: Canon

University: Oxford, Trinity

Location Information

Main Active Place: Upminster, Essex, England

Other Significant Locations: Wargrave, Berkshire; Windsor, Berkshire;

Interests and Disciplines

Major Field: Natural Theology

Subfields: Meteorology, Entomology, Astronomy

Principal Publications

The artificial clock-maker. A treatise of watch, and clock-work: wherein the art of calculating numbers for most sorts of movements is explained to the capacity of the unlearned (London: James Knapton, 1696).

Physico-theology: or, a demonstration of the being and attributes of God, from His works of creation. Being the substance of XVI sermons (London: W. Innys, 1713).

Astro-Theology: or a demonstration of the being and attributes of God, from a survey of the heavens. Illustrated with copper-plates (London: W. Innys, 1715).

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Following the link below will search for articles by William Derham in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, but may return no results (if Derham did not publish anything in the Philosophical Transactions) or may return a result for another person with the same name. If this link returns unexpected results, use the Advanced Search option on the Philosophical Transactions website to retry the search.

Search for William Derham in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Standard Online Sources

Clicking on the name or ID number below will take you to the relevant page on the website mentioned. If there is a dash, then Derham is not mentioned in that resource. Some resources may require a log in. Access to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: can generally be obtained for UK users by using your public library membership number.

Biodiversity Heritage Library Creator Number: 5984

Clergy of the Church of England Database (1540-1835) Person ID: 162648

Herbaria@Home Collector Number: -

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: William Derham

Wikipedia: William Derham

Standard Printed Sources

These are the standard sources consulted when preparing this dataset. If Derham is mentioned, there will be a page number, or, if not mentioned, a dash.

Armstrong, English Parson Naturalist: -

Bridson, History of Natural History, a Bibliography, 2nd edn: -

Desmond, Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists, 2nd edn: -

Henrey, British Botanical and Horticultural Literature Before 1800: -

Other Printed Sources:

Archives and Holdings

Major Holdings of Manuscripts and/or Printed Texts: British Library; Essex Record Office; University of Oxford, Taylor Institution

Major Holdings of Biological Collections: -

Notes:

Record Created: 1/1/2023