--- title: Robert Boyle author: Mark Cartwright source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) updated: 2023-10-04 --- # Robert Boyle _Authored by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/)_ Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was an Anglo-Irish chemist, physicist, and experimental philosopher. Boyle was a prolific author, made significant experiments with air pumps, and presented the first litmus test. A founding member of the Royal Society, Boyle bequeathed funding for a long-lasting series of lectures, the Boyle Lectures, which aimed to show that the Christian faith and [science](https://www.worldhistory.org/science/) were not incompatible. ### Early Life Robert Boyle was born on 25 January 1627 in [Ireland](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Ireland/). His father was Richard Boyle (1566-1643), the English landowner who later became the Earl of Cork. Robert was privately educated and then attended Eton College, but unusually for a leading figure of the [Scientific Revolution](https://www.worldhistory.org/Scientific_Revolution/), he did not study at a university. Boyle's education was rounded out by conducting a grand tour of [Europe](https://www.worldhistory.org/europe/) between 1639 and 1642, taking private lessons along the way with a tutor in tow. Robert lived in a manor house in Stalbridge, Dorset, in southern [England](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/england/) from 1644, which was paid for by his father. In the mid-1650s, he moved to Oxford. In 1668, Boyle moved again, this time to Pall Mall in London, where he shared a home with his beloved sister Katherine. ### Approach to Science Free to pursue any interest that took his fancy and with plenty of family money to spend on expensive experiments and equipment, Robert was most interested in natural [philosophy](https://www.worldhistory.org/philosophy/) and conducting practical experiments that would help explain how the world around us works. To that end, Boyle gave employment to [Robert Hooke](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Hooke/) (1635-1703), who acted as his lab assistant in Boyle's purpose-built laboratory, which was filled with bizarre and cutting-edge scientific apparatus and devices. Another of Boyle's young lab assistants who went on to greater things was Francis Hauksbee (1660-1713), who made several discoveries concerning electricity. A third important assistant, really Boyle's director of experiments, was the Frenchman Denis Papin (1647-1713). Boyle was a prolific writer of books, too, and because he was not short of money, he could afford to publish most of them in Latin, which meant his reputation easily spread to other countries. Boyle's books on mathematics, [religion](https://www.worldhistory.org/religion/), and [medicine](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/medicine/) were popular, so much so that he became a frequent victim of plagiarism. In his works, it is clear that Boyle was against any sort of -ism. He did not completely agree with mechanical philosophers who held that everything has a material cause, that is, all natural phenomena must be reduced to motion and matter. Neither did he adhere to Cartesianism, Aristotelianism, or Paracelsianism, which were the most popular methods of understanding the world around us at that time. Boyle, rather than following one all-encompassing method of inquiry, preferred to tackle individual problems using observations and chemical experiments most pertinent to the task at hand. In this sense, Boyle was in agreement with the approach forwarded by [Francis Bacon](https://www.worldhistory.org/Francis_Bacon/) (1561-1626). Above all, for Boyle, practical experiments beat systems of thought. [ ![Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/17984.png?v=1696321850-1696321872) Robert Boyle Science Museum, London (CC BY-NC-SA) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17984/robert-boyle/ "Robert Boyle")One system of thought that did appeal to Boyle was Christian theology. A devout Christian, Boyle saw no conflict with the endeavours of science (or what might better be called natural philosophy in those days) and his faith. Boyle wrote on this subject the year before he died in his book *The Christian Virtuoso* (1690). When not experimenting, Boyle spent a great deal of time and money on evangelism. He paid for translations of the [New Testament](https://www.worldhistory.org/New_Testament/) into languages such as Irish, Lithuanian, Malayan, and Turkish. He wrote extensively on theology and financially supported missionary work. ### Experiments with Air Pumps One area of experimentation that seemed to particularly fascinate Boyle was the use of air pumps. This was still an experimental device itself, but luckily for Boyle, in his assistant Robert Hooke, he had one of the foremost experts in using the device. Boyle's pump, actually built by Hooke, was unique since it included a vessel in which specimens (live or otherwise) could be subjected to variations in air pressure. The instrument is here described by L. Jardine: > The completed pump consisted of a large glass receiver (about thirty quarts in volume) with a four-inch opening at the top through which experimental apparatus could be inserted. A brass cylinder with milled valves, in which a sucker could be made to rise and fall by turning a handle attached to a geared ratchet, was mounted on a wooden frame below the receiver. A stop-cock was inserted at the bottom of the receiver and a valve at the top of the cylinder. (54) [ ![Boyle's Air Pump](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/17989.png?v=1726105505-1696341049) Boyle's Air Pump Unknown Artist (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17989/boyles-air-pump/ "Boyle's Air Pump")Boyle published the results of his air pump experiments in his 1660 book *New Experiments Physico-Mechanical Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects*. The book was actually written by his assistant Papin, who was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1680 for his own work in this field, including inventing the pressure cooker. Boyle formulated a principle which became known as "Boyle's [Law](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/law/)". This law states that the pressure exerted by a certain quantity of air varies inversely in proportion to its volume (provided temperatures are constant). Boyle, in fact, was only the first to demonstrate the law since it had already been proposed by two earlier thinkers: Richard Towneley (1629-1707) and Henry Power (1623-1668). Boyle and his assistants were able to demonstrate how a vacuum could exist, for a time called the "vacuum Boylianum". Not everyone agreed that Boyle had created a vacuum in his glass dome using an air pump or even that such a thing could exist at all; [Thomas Hobbes](https://www.worldhistory.org/Thomas_Hobbes/) (1588-1679) was the most vocal opponent of Boyle's work with vacuums. It was Boyle, too, who called the new device used for measuring air pressure the barometer (although the device itself was invented by Evangelista Torricelli, 1608-1647). Boyle's work on air pressure, especially his law and experiments with pressure gauges and pistons, would prove an inspiration to the creators of the steam engine that literally and figuratively powered the [Industrial Revolution](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Industrial_Revolution/). ### [Alchemy](https://www.worldhistory.org/Alchemy/) & Chemistry Boyle was a great supporter of the new science of chemistry, and he was keen to restore its reputation, which had suffered for its association with alchemy. Boyle published a sprawling overview and defence of chemistry in his lengthy *The Skeptical Chymist*, published in 1661. Although highly critical of some alchemists and chemical tricksters, Boyle was not against this ancient field of study, believing that the chemical experiments in search of a way to transform base metals into [gold](https://www.worldhistory.org/gold/) using a catalyst device called the philosopher's stone often had value in themselves as exercises in investigative chemistry. Indeed, Boyle used his political connections to repeal a law in England that prohibited the alchemical manufacture of [silver](https://www.worldhistory.org/Silver/) or gold (although nobody had ever found a successful method to achieve either). [ ![The Alchemist by Wright](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/17809.png?v=1766834054-1692816029) The Alchemist by Wright Joseph Wright (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17809/the-alchemist-by-wright/ "The Alchemist by Wright")Boyle even practised alchemy himself using mercury (he wrote a treatise on these experiments), and he does seem to have been genuinely convinced that the transmutation of metals was possible (in both directions: base to gold and gold to base metals); he even describes how the philosopher's stone, if found, might be used to attract angels and spirits (another age-old belief of alchemists). Boyle was completely against, though, the secrecy of the alchemists who corresponded with each other in code and would not share their chemical findings with anyone else. This was a crucial difference with the new [scientific method](https://www.worldhistory.org/Scientific_Method/), which prioritised the clear sharing of information and subjecting that information to critical analysis and comparative testing. It is surprising that such a mind as Boyle's was so willing to believe in the transmutation of materials, even if he kept his science and alchemy as quite separate activities. So much did Boyle want to believe in alchemy that he became a soft touch for unscrupulous tricksters. One Georges Pierre des Clozets, an alchemist fraud claiming to represent a secret society headed by the Patriarch of [Antioch](https://www.worldhistory.org/Antiochia/), managed to fleece Boyle of large sums of money for investment in dubious experiments. Boyle also sent extravagant gifts to Georges for the non-existent patriarch, such as a globe, a telescope, a clock, and a lavish binding of the New Testament. None of the gifts managed to gain Boyle entry into the secret society. When the experiments never showed any results, Boyle was fobbed off with wild stories such as the alchemists' castle had been blown up by enemies of their secret society and all the very promising research lost. As with some other figures of the Scientific Revolution, Boyle's views on alchemy and science proper have unsettled some historians who have struggled to reconcile these seemingly opposite approaches to discovering new knowledge. It is certainly noteworthy that Boyle's executors destroyed much of his library on alchemy so as not to tarnish his reputation as a scientist, a form of whitewashing that the work of [Isaac Newton](https://www.worldhistory.org/Isaac_Newton/) (1642-1727) also underwent after his [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/). [ ![Boyle's Notebook](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/17988.png?v=1696340205-1696340231) Boyle's Notebook Royal Society, London (Public Domain) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17988/boyles-notebook/ "Boyle's Notebook")Boyle did remain a respected scientist in his own lifetime, and he was, accordingly, one of the founding fellows of the Royal Society in London in 1662, an organisation set up to better share and advance knowledge, particularly in the fields of mathematics and physics. Boyle served on the society's council but declined an offer of the presidency in 1680. Boyle made countless contributions to the unofficial magazine of the Royal Society, *Philosophical Transactions*. The aim of the Royal Society was to increase knowledge of nature, but men like Boyle (and [Bacon](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Bacon/) before him) wanted to subdue nature before the intelligence of scientists, what he described as making nature "serviceable to their particular ends, whether of health, or riches, or sensual delight" (Henry, 107). In other words, Boyle wanted practical benefits for his investment in experiments. ### Boyle's Other Innovations Another Boyle work dealing with chemistry was 1664's *Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours*, which, amongst its many other points of interest, introduced the reader to a prototype of the litmus test – that is the test to determine if a substance is acidic or alkaline or neutral. Boyle's test observed colour changes when a specific sample was dipped into what he called "syrup of violets" on white paper. Although mostly a practical scientist, Boyle did formulate a famous theory, that of corpuscles, as here summarised by the historian W. E. Burns: > Boyle's "corpuscularian" matter theory had roots in both atomism and alchemy. It held that tiny particles of matter coalesce to form corpuscles, the basic building blocks of material substances, and it explained the properties of matter by the nature and structure of these corpuscles. (40) Essentially, for Boyle, anything could be made by rearranging these corpuscles – which stuck together because of their particular shape (not because of their atomic structure, which was still then unknown) – and this is perhaps why he still adhered to the antiquated belief that gold could be made from some other material. Alchemy was merely trying to speed up what nature itself could already do, and gold was, for Boyle, the purest of all corpuscularian substances. Boyle and Newton were close friends, and his ideas on corpuscles do seem to have influenced Newton (another dabbler in alchemy and experiments involving mercury) for his theory of light being made up of different elements, that is, several varied types of coloured light which come together as a whole to make something new: white light. [ ![Robert Boyle Portrait](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/17990.png?v=1696341230-1696341288) Robert Boyle Portrait Wellcome Images (CC BY) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17990/robert-boyle-portrait/ "Robert Boyle Portrait")Putting all of these ideas together, Boyle's combined studies of air pressures, chemistry, and corpuscles led him to once describe the human body as a "hydraulico-pneumatical engine" (Moran, 161). This did not mean [God](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) was not involved, for Boyle believed the human body, although a sophisticated mechanism, still needed some divine power and wisdom to set it going, maintain it, and allow it to pursue certain ends. This divine power and wisdom was, for Boyle, the Christian God, and, crucially, God's ultimate purpose for humanity and the universe can never be known. ### Death & Legacy Robert Boyle, after a lifetime of dubious health, died on New Year's Eve 1691 in London. He had never married and had no children. In his will, he left generous provision for a series of lectures to be delivered each year in London. The aim of the Boyle Lectures was to defend [Christianity](https://www.worldhistory.org/christianity/) against anyone who was atheist, diminished the divine power of God, or belonged to other religions such as [Judaism](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/judaism/) and [Islam](https://www.worldhistory.org/islam/). In this period, many Christians were worried about a perceived rise in atheism, a phenomenon that could be made worse by unscrupulous and unfaithful scientists. Christians, and particularly Boyle, wished to do something about this by defending the Christian faith and demonstrating through science the wonders of God's work (as they put it), such as the inexplicable sources of energy like gravity and moving planets seen through a telescope and the intricate anatomical details of insects seen through a microscope. Regarding the Boyle Lectures, there was also a condition that the speakers did not mention the differences between Christians. Held from 1692, the lectures and their subsequent publication in book form were very popular. The lectures ran, although not every single year, through the 18th and 19th centuries before being discontinued in the early 20th century and then revived from 2004. #### Editorial Review This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/). ## Bibliography - [Burns, William E. *The Scientific Revolution in Global Perspective.* Oxford University Press, 2015.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0199989338/) - [Burns, William E. *The Scientific Revolution.* ABC-CLIO, 2001.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0874368758/) - [Bynum, William F. & Browne, Janet & Porter, Roy. *Dictionary of the History of Science .* Princeton University Press, 1982.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0691082871/) - [Gleick, James. *Isaac Newton.* Vintage, 2004.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1400032954/) - [Henry, John. *The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science .* Red Globe Press, 2008.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0230574386/) - [Jardine, Lisa. *Ingenious Pursuits.* Anchor, 2000.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0385720017/) - [Moran, Bruce T. *Distilling Knowledge.* Harvard University Press, 2005.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0674014952/) - [Wootton, David. *The Invention of Science.* Harper, 2015.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/006175952X/) ## About the Author Mark is WHE’s Publishing Director and has an MA in Political Philosophy (University of York). He is a full-time researcher, writer, historian and editor. Special interests include art, architecture and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. ## Timeline - **1627 CE - 1691 CE**: Life of the scientist [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/). - **25 Jan 1627 CE**: The scientist [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) is born in [Ireland](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Ireland/). - **1639 CE - 1642 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) embarks on a grand tour of [Europe](https://www.worldhistory.org/europe/). - **1660 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) publishes the New Experiments Physico-Mechanical Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects. - **1661 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) publishes The Skeptical Chymist. - **1662 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) is a founding fellow of the Royal Society in London. - **1664 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) publishes Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours. - **1668 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) moves to Pall Mall, London. - **1690 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) publishes The Christian Virtuoso. - **31 Dec 1691 CE**: [Robert Boyle](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) dies and leaves funds for a series of annual lectures defending [Christianity](https://www.worldhistory.org/christianity/), the Boyle Lectures. ## Questions & Answers ### What is Robert Boyle famous for? Robert Boyle is famous as a key figure of the Scientific Revolution, who pioneered a law of air pressure, the litmus test, and the Royal Society. ### What did Robert Boyle discover? Robert Boyle discovered that the pressure exerted by a certain quantity of air varies inversely in proportion to its volume. This is now known as Boyle's Law. ### Was Robert Boyle an alchemist or a chemist? Robert Boyle was both an alchemist and a chemist. He believed in using any experimental method to achieve new knowledge. Boyle kept his science and alchemy separate, but he remained convinced that it was possible to transform base metals into gold. ## Cite This Work ### APA Cartwright, M. (2023, October 04). Robert Boyle. *World History Encyclopedia*. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert\_Boyle/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/) ### Chicago Cartwright, Mark. "Robert Boyle." *World History Encyclopedia*, October 04, 2023. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert\_Boyle/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/). ### MLA Cartwright, Mark. "Robert Boyle." *World History Encyclopedia*, 04 Oct 2023, [https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert\_Boyle/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Robert_Boyle/). ## License & Copyright Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 04 October 2023. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.