In the Mainstream of London Science

Abstract

Mary Somerville’s earliest scientific intimates in London were William Hyde Wollaston (1766–1828; F.R.S., 1793); Thomas Young (1773–1829; F.R.S., 1794); Henry Kater (1777–1835; F.R.S., 1814); Sir John Saunders Sebright (1767–1846); Francis Chantrey (1781–1841; F.R.S., 1818), William Blake (1774–1852; F.R.S., 1807) and Henry Warburton (1784–1848; F.R.S., 1809). Alexander and Jane Marcet were part of this circle until Marcet’s death in October 1822 and his wife’s removal to Geneva. The Somervilles were the newcomers to this group, which had drawn together with Wollaston as the magnet. He, Young, Blake and Warburton had all been at Cambridge. After the latter two settled in London, they turned to science as an avocation. All were members of the Royal Society, Wollaston, Warburton and Blake of the Geological Society. Wollaston and Young often served on committees of the Royal Society and as officers. Sebright, according to Mrs. Somerville, was ‘a good chemist’.¹ Chantrey was interested in mineralogy.² He had become a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1814. All were keen sportsmen. Kater became part of the group in 1814 when he came to London and joined the Royal Society. Wollaston and Young immediately recognized his talents and made sure he took an active part in the management of the Society.