DIGBY, SIR KENELM (1603-1665), English author, diplo matist and sailor, son of Sir Everard Digby (q.v.), was brought up as a Roman Catholic at his mother's house at Gayhurst. On leaving Oxford in 1620 he travelled in France and Italy, and in March 1623 joined his uncle, Sir John Digby, ambassador to the court of Spain. There he met Prince Charles and the duke of Buckingham, and, joining the prince's household, returned with him to England, and was knighted by James in October. Digby was a handsome man and cut a great figure in society, but was kept out of public employment by Buckingham's jealousy of his cousin, Lord Bristol. In 1627 he decided, on the latter's advice, to attempt an adventure on his own. With two ships he set sail on a privateering expedition, captured some Spanish and Flemish ships off Gibraltar (Jan. 18, 1628), seized a Dutch ship off Ma jorca, and defeated the French and Venetian ships in the harbour of Scanderoon. He returned to England in Feb. 1629, and next year was made a commissioner of the navy, but his doings in the Mediterranean had to be disavowed on account of the complaints of the Venetian ambassador.
Digby had married secretly in 1625 the beautiful Venetia Han ley. She died in 1633, and was celebrated by Ben Jonson in Eupheme. Her husband went into retirement for two years to mourn for his wife, and changed his religion, only to return to the Roman Catholic faith immediately. He wrote from France pam phlets in defence of his faith, and on his return to England ap pealed (1640) to Roman Catholics for money in support of the King's Scottish expedition (1641) to secure help against the par liament. He was summoned to the bar of the House of Commons (Jan. 27, 1641) to answer for his conduct. He left England, re turned and was imprisoned, and was finally released and allowed to go to France (July 30, 1643) , on condition that he engaged in no plots against the Government.
He became chancellor to the queen Henrietta Maria, in Paris, and was sent by her on a mission to Rome in 1646, where he promised in her name (he had no warrant from Charles) religious freedom for Roman Catholics in England and Ireland, an inde pendent parliament for Ireland, etc. In Feb. he was asked to return to England, was again banished, and remained in exile until 16S4. At that time he was engaged by Cromwell, to the scandal of both parties, in diplomatic business. At the Restoration he re turned to England. He died on June II, 1665.
While he was in Paris he had written two works famous in their day, Of Bodies and Of the Immortality of Man's Soul (1644). He dabbled in medicine, and some of his preparations are de scribed in The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelm Digby Knt. Opened (1677). His Memoirs are composed in the high-flown fantastic manner then usual when recounting incidents of love and adventure, but the style of his more sober works is excellent.
Digby translated A Treatise of adhering to God written by Albert the Great, Bishop of Ratisbon (1653) ; and he was the author of Private Memoirs, published by Sir N. H. Nicholas from Harleian Ms. 6758 with introduction (i827) ; Journal of the Scanderoon Voyage in 1628, printed by J. Bruce with preface (Camden Society, i868) ; Poems from Sir Kenelm Digby's Papers . . . with preface and notes (Roxburghe Club, 1877) ; in the Add. Mss. 34,362 f. 66 is a poem Of the Miserys of Man, probably by Digby ; Choice of Experimental Receipts in Physick and Chirurgery ... collected by Sir K. Digby , and Chymical Secrets and Rare Experiments (1683) , were published by G. Hartman, who describes himself as Digby's steward and laboratory assistant.
See the Life of Sir Kenelm Digby by one of his Descendants (T. Longueville), 1896.