BOYLE, ROBERT. – Celebrated English scientist of the seventeenth century, b. at Lismore (Munster), Ireland, on 25 January 1627, d. in London on the 10th or, according to others, the 20th of December 1691. He studied in Geneva and Florence. After his father’s death in 1644, he returned to his homeland to devote himself entirely to physics and chemistry. He subsequently resided at Stalbridge (1644), Oxford (1654), and London (1668). In the scientific field, B. was opposed to peripatetic-scholastic theories, which he demolished in physics with entirely new vigour and clarity. Through his research he contributed effectively to the development of chemistry and must be counted, with Van Helmont, among the greatest figures who dominated seventeenth-century science. He perfected Otto von Guericke’s pneumatic machine and formulated the law later rediscovered by Edmond Mariotte, according to which gases at constant temperature decrease in volume in proportion to the increase in pressure (B.-Mariotte law).
He wrote numerous scientific works, among which the Chymista scepticus (Geneva 1676) and the Experimenta et considerationes de coloribus (ibid. 1676) are of the highest importance. Also noteworthy is the pamphlet Specimen de gemmarum origine et virtutibus (Hamburg 1673).
B. possessed profound and exceptionally wide-ranging learning, a noble character, and delicate sentiments. Faithful to science, he was no less faithful to religion, on which he composed several apologetic writings, with particular regard to the relationship between science and faith. In order to read the Bible in the original texts, he applied himself to the study of the Oriental languages and Greek. He had Hugo van Groot’s work De veritate religionis christianae (Leiden 1627) translated into Arabic, sent the New Testament, translated into Malay and printed at his own expense, to mission lands, and expressed his religious convictions through other distinguished works of charity. He was one of the founders of that institution which was to become the Royal Society of London. His complete works were published in Latin (Geneva 1676) and in English (London 1772).