Robert Moray

Sir Robert Moray
Born1608 or 1609
birthplace unknown (probably Craigie, Perthshire)
Died1673
London
NationalityScottish
CitizenshipScotland
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews (disputed)
possibly a university in France
Known forpersuaded Charles II to grant the Royal Society a royal charter
Scientific career
Fieldschemistry, magnetism, metallurgy, mineralogy, natural history, pharmacology, applied technology (fishing, lumbering, mining, shipbuilding, watermills, windmills)

Sir Robert Moray (alternative spellings: Murrey, Murray) FRS (1608 or 1609 – 4 July 1673) was a Scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, and natural philosopher. He was well known to Charles I and Charles II, and to the French cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. He attended the meeting of the 1660 committee of 12 on 28 November 1660 that led to the formation of the Royal Society, and was influential in gaining its Royal Charter and formulating its statutes and regulations.[1] He was also one of the founders of modern Freemasonry in Great Britain.

  1. ^ The most complete work on this man remains A. Robertson, The Life of Sir Robert Moray (London: Longman, 1922)