John Wilkins

John Wilkins (1614–1672)

Image 1: Portrait attributed to John Greenhill (1644–1676), circa 1670, oil on canvas, 74.9 cm x 61 cm. Source: ArtUK via Wikipedia (public domain).
Image 2: Line engraving by Abraham Blooteling (Bloteling), after Mary Beale, circa 1670, 347 mm x 255 mm (paper size). Source: National Portrait Gallery no. D19054 (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Commentary
John Wilkins, DD (Doctor of Divinity) is remembered better for his natural philosophical interests than religious contributions. He began his career publishing two works intended to defend the Copernican worldview, The discovery of a new world (1638) and Discourse concerning a new planet (1640). 

While in London in 1641, Wilkins became a member of a group devoted to the study of natural philosophy including geometry, mechanics, magnetism, chemistry, and medicine. When he moved to Oxford in 1648 as the new warden of Wadham College, he became the leader of another group, the Oxford Philosophical Club, that comprised many of the same individuals as in London, such as Seth Ward, Robert Boyle, John Wallis, Thomas Willis and William Petty. He was also a supervisor of Christopher Wren and Thomas Sprat. 

As one of the most influential figures in the university at the time, Wilkins took it upon itself to defend Oxford's status. Thus, when John Webster attacked standard university education in Academiarum examen (1654), Wilkins promptly replied to it in Vindiciae academiarum (1654), a response written with Seth Ward. The work sought to confute Webster's charge that the university was an antiquated place where new learning was missing. 

After the Restoration of Charles II, Wilkins became one of the founders of the Royal Society of London and was a highly active fellow (often being referred to by the unofficial title of 'vice-president'). Wilkins was one of the instigators of Thomas Sprat's official History of the Royal Society (1667), which he closely supervised. 

Wilkins's best-known works are Mathematical Magick (1648), a practical manual on mechanical construction, and Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language (1668), a work where he advocated the creation of an universal artificial language.