HOOKE, llonEnT, an eminent natural philosopher, 'was born at Freshwater, on the west side of the Isle of Wight, on the 18th July 1635, and for the first seven years of his life was in a very infirm state of health. His father, who was the minister of the parish, educated him under his own roof, as he had been such a sickly child that he was not expected to live. He was at first intended for the church; but after beginning the Latin grammar, his health became so weak, and he was so much subject to headache, that his parents despaired of making hint a scholar. Be ing thus left to the direction of his own genius, he amused himself in the formation of toys, and he even succeeded in the construction of a wooden clock, that exhibited in a rough manner the hours of the day, and in the formation of a full rigged ship, about a yard long, which had a con trivance for firing some small guns as it sailed across a piece of water. This circumstance led his parents to the resolution of putting him an apprentice to a watch• maker, or a painter ; but by the death of his father in 1648, neither of these plans were adopted. He was placed, indeed, for a time tinder the celebrated painter Sir Peter Lely ; but he soon found from experience, that he had chosen a profes sion which the state of his health would not allow him to prosecute. He was therefore sent to Westminster school, and was kindly taken into Dr Busby's house, where he made great progress in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and other oriental languages. He made also considerable progress in Euclid, and, as Wood informs us, he invented and com municated to Dr Wilkins shirty derent anodes of fly ing! In the year 1650, according to Mr Wood, and 1653, ac cording to I\ Ir Waller, he went to Christ's Church, Ox ford. In 1655 he was introduced to the Philosophical So ciety there. He was employed to assist Dr Willis in his chemical experiments; and he afterwards laboured seve ral years in the same capacity with Mr Boyle. He receiv ed instructions in astronomy from Dr Seth Ward, Savilian professor of that science in Oxford, and was henceforth dis tinguished for the invention of various astronomical and mechanical instruments, and particularly for the air-pump which he contrived for Mr Boyle.
In consequence of perusing Ricciolus's .41magest, which Dr Ward put into his hands, he was led, in the years 1656, t657, and 1658, to the invention of the balance or pendu• lum spring, one of the greatest improvements which has been fnade in the art of horology : (See HOROLOGY, chap.
iii. p. 131.) He mentioned this discovery to Mr Boyle, who, as Dr Hooke remarks, " immediately after his Ma jesty's restoration, was pleased to acquaint the Lord Brouncker and Sir Babel t Moray with it, who advised me to get a patent for the invention; and propounded very pro bable ways of making considerable advantage by it. To induce them to a belief of my performance, I showed a pocket-watch, accommodated with a spring applied to the arbor of the balance to regulate the motion thereof. This was so well approved of, that Sir Robert Moray drew me up the form of a patent ; the principal part whereof, viz. the description of the watch so regulated, is in his own hand-writing, which I have yet by me. The discourage ments I met with in the management of this affair, made me desist for that time." In the agreement between Dr Hooke, Mr. Boyle, Lord Brouncker, and Sir Robert Mo ray, which seems to have been drawn up about 1663, it was provided, that out of the first 6000/. of profit, Dr Hooke was to have three-fourths ; of the next 40001., two thirds ; and of the rest, one half : but the other partners in the patent very improperly insisted upon the insertion of a clause, giving to any of themselves the sole benefit of whatever improvements they might make upon his in vention.
About the same time Hooke contrived the circular pen dulum, which was shewn to the Royal Society in 1663, and which was afterwards claimed by Huygens. This pendu lum, which is described in Hooke's Animadversions on the .Machina Celestis of Hevelius, does not vibrate backwards and forwards, but always in a circle, " the string being suspended above at the tripedal length, and the ball fixed below, as suppose at the end of the fly of a common jack. The motion of this circular pendulum is as regular, and much the same with those mentioned before; and was made to give warning at any moment of its circumgyration, either when it had turned but a quarter, a half, or any less er or greater part of its circle. So that here you had no tice not only of a second, hut of the most minute part of a second of time." See Derham's Artificial Clock-maker, p. 97.