Papers of Brook Taylor

This material is held atSt John's College Library Special Collections, University of Cambridge

  • Reference
    • GB 275 TaylorB
  • Former Reference
    • GB 275 U.19
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1701–1981
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • English Latin French
  • Physical Description
    • 2 boxes paper

Scope and Content

Includes notebooks, musical papers, mathematical notes, printed ephemera, and correspondence.

Administrative / Biographical History

Taylor was born in Edmonton, Middlesex. His father was a merchant and Taylor was tutored at home, becoming an accomplished musician and artist. In 1701, he was admitted as a fellow-commoner to St John's. Here he studied law, mathematics and physics, taking the degrees of LLB in 1709 and LLD in 1714. Elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1712, Taylor was chosen to serve on the committee adjudicating the controversy between Newton and Leibniz over calculus. In 1715, Taylor was elected secretary of the Royal Society and published two books, 'Linear Perspective' and 'Methodus incrementorum directa et inversa'. Taylor was a friend of John Keill, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and of the French probabilist Pierre Rémond de Montmort. He was involved in a bitter public dispute with Bernouilli, who accused him of plagiarism in his 'Methodus'. Taylor was twice married and in 1729 inherited the family estate of Bifrons, near Canterbury.

Access Information

Open for consultation

Acquisition Information

Presented to St John's College in 1908 by Ernest Taylor ('The Eagle' XXX (1909), 105). The material came to the library with other papers of Sir Robert Forsyth Scott (1849-1933), Master 1908-33.

Note

Taylor was born in Edmonton, Middlesex. His father was a merchant and Taylor was tutored at home, becoming an accomplished musician and artist. In 1701, he was admitted as a fellow-commoner to St John's. Here he studied law, mathematics and physics, taking the degrees of LLB in 1709 and LLD in 1714. Elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1712, Taylor was chosen to serve on the committee adjudicating the controversy between Newton and Leibniz over calculus. In 1715, Taylor was elected secretary of the Royal Society and published two books, 'Linear Perspective' and 'Methodus incrementorum directa et inversa'. Taylor was a friend of John Keill, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and of the French probabilist Pierre Rémond de Montmort. He was involved in a bitter public dispute with Bernouilli, who accused him of plagiarism in his 'Methodus'. Taylor was twice married and in 1729 inherited the family estate of Bifrons, near Canterbury.

Preferred citation: St John's College Library, Papers of Brook Taylor

Archivist's Note

28 May 2009

Additional Information

Published