GEMMS IDGEMMS-PERSON-000283
NameJohn Wallis
TitleDr
Gendermale
DenominationChurch of England
Livedb. 1616-11-23 - d. 1703-10-28 (old)
Linked Manuscriptsmanuscript owner - Correspondence and Papers of Dr. John Wallis: MS. Add. D. 105
Linked SermonsSermon on 2 Corinthians 7:10 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Acts 2:37 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Canticles 1:4 -- preacher (autograph: yes)Sermon on Ephesians 2:4-5 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Isaiah 3:10-11 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Psalms 86:7 -- preacher (autograph: no)Sermon on Unidentified Text -- preacher (autograph: no)
Linked ReportsLetters of Thomas Tenison -- author of letterList of printed sermons -- preacherSermon on unidentified text -- recipient of letter
Associated PlacesSt Gabriel Fenchurch -- ParishEmmanuel College -- Place of StudyExeter College -- Place of StudyOxford University -- PostQueens' College -- PostSt Martin Pomeroy (Pomary) -- Post
Source of DataJennifer Farooq; David Robinson; Hannah Wood
Biographical Sources ConsultedODNB (Article: 28572); AO (Foster)
Other NoteJohn Wallis was born on 3 December 1616 in Ashford, Kent to Robert Wallis, minister of Ashford, and his second wife Joanna. He studied at private schools in Tenterden and Felsted before being admitted as pensioner to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1637 and M.A. in 1640. Although he would come to be known for his skills as a mathematician, he claimed not to have pursued it as a formal study at university and to instead have been largely self-taught. Wallis was ordained in 1640 and became chaplain to Sir Richard Daley and then to the widow of Horatio, Lord Vere. From 1644 he served as secretary to the divines at Westminster, and obtained a fellowship at Queens’ College, Cambridge that he resigned upon his marriage to Susanna Glyde (1622-1687) the following year. He was appointed minister of St Martin's, Ironmonger Lane and rector of St Gabriel, Fenchurch Lane in 1645. During the Civil War he lent his talents as a cryptographer to the parliamentary party. A founding member of the Royal Society, Wallis contributed more than 60 papers on various subjects to the society’s “Philosophical Transactions”. In 1649, Wallis was made Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford, from which point his mathematical accomplishments proliferated. He was created D.D. in 1654, and was made keeper of Oxford University’s archives in 1658. In 1660 he was made royal chaplain to Charles II. Wallis authored several major mathematical works during his lifetime, including “Operum mathematicorum pars prima” (1657), “Operum mathematicorum pars altera” (1656), and “A Treatise of Algebra, both Historical and Practical” (1685); he also edited works of Archimedes, Ptolemy, Aristarchus, and Jeremiah Horrocks, among others. Wallis died on 28 October 1703 in Oxford, at the age of 86. He was buried in St Mary’s church, Oxford, predeceased by his wife and survived by his children John, Anne, and Elizabeth.
Attached URLs:
| URL | Notes |
|---|---|
| www.british-history.ac.uk/alumni-oxon/1500-1714/pp1550-1577 | Alumni Oxonienses |
GEMMS record createdMarch 08, 2016
GEMMS record last editedDecember 13, 2021