Editing John Ray (section)

== Life ==

=== Early life ===

[[File:John Ray birthplace's in Black Notley, Essex.jpg|thumb|John Ray's birthplace in Black Notley, Essex]]
[[File:Blue plaque to John Ray.jpg|thumb|Blue plaque to John Ray]]

John Ray was born in the village of [[Black Notley]] in Essex. He is said to have been born in the smithy, his father having been the village [[blacksmith]]. After studying at Braintree school, he was sent at the age of sixteen to Cambridge University: studying at [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]].<ref>{{acad|id=RY644J|name=Ray, John}}</ref> Initially at Catharine Hall, his tutor was Daniel Duckfield, and later transferred to Trinity where his tutor was [[James Duport]], and his "intimate friend" and fellow-pupil the celebrated [[Isaac Barrow]]. Ray was chosen minor fellow{{efn|While still a B.A.}} of Trinity in 1649, and later major fellow.{{efn|On attaining his M.A.}} He held many college offices, becoming successively lecturer in Greek (1651), mathematics (1653), and humanity (1655), ''[[praelector]]'' (1657), junior dean (1657), and college steward (1659 and 1660); and according to the habit of the time, he was accustomed to preach in his college chapel and also at [[St Mary the Great with St Michael, Cambridge|Great St Mary's]], long before he took [[holy order]]s on 23 December 1660. Among these sermons were his discourses on ''The wisdom of God manifested in the works of the creation'',<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=dxkHAAAAQAAJ ''The wisdom of God manifested in the works of the Creation''], Google Books</ref> and ''Deluge and Dissolution of the World''. Ray was also highly regarded as a tutor and he communicated his own passion for natural history to several pupils.{{sfn|Thompson|1911|p=931}} Ray's student, [[Isaac Barrow]], helped Francis Willughby learn mathematics and Ray collaborated with Willughby later.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mullens, W.H.|title=Some early British Ornithologists and their works. VII. John Ray (1627-1705) and Francis Willughby (1635-1672)|pages=290–300|volume=2|issue=9|url=http://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V02/V02_N09/V02_N09_P290_300_A047.pdf|journal=British Birds|year=1909|access-date=6 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140512/http://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V02/V02_N09/V02_N09_P290_300_A047.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Wonderful Mr Willughby: The First True Ornithologist|last1=Birkhead|first1=Tim|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4088-7848-4|location=London|pages=24–25}}</ref> It was at Trinity that he came under the influence of [[John Wilkins]], when the latter was appointed [[master (college)|master]] of the college in 1659.{{sfn|Slaughter|1982|loc=p.&nbsp;62}}

=== Later life and family ===

After leaving Cambridge in 1663 he spent some time travelling both in Britain and the continent.{{sfn|Vines|1913}} In 1673, Ray married Margaret Oakley of [[Launton]] in Oxfordshire; in 1676 he went to [[Middleton Hall, Warwickshire|Middleton Hall]] near [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]], and in 1677 to Falborne (or [[Faulkbourne]]) Hall in Essex. Finally, in 1679, he removed to his birthplace at [[Black Notley]], where he afterwards remained. His life there was quiet and uneventful, although he had poor health, including chronic sores.{{sfn|Thompson|1911|p=932}} Ray kept writing books and corresponded widely on scientific matters, collaborating with his doctor and contemporary [[Samuel Dale (physician)|Samuel Dale]].<ref name=sage>Morris, A. D. (1974). Samuel Dale (1659-1739), Physician and Geologist. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 67, 120–124. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/003591577406700215</ref> He lived, in spite of his infirmities, to the age of seventy-seven, dying at Black Notley. He is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul where there is a memorial to him. He is widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English [[parson-naturalist]]s.{{sfn|Armstrong|2000|loc=pp.&nbsp;45''ff''}}

[[File:Memorial to John Ray in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul in Black Notley.jpg|thumb|Memorial to John Ray in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul in Black Notley]]
[[File:Close-up of John Ray memorial.jpg|thumb|Close-up of memorial to John Ray]]