Editing William Hyde Wollaston (section)

==Life==

He was born in [[East Dereham]] in [[Norfolk]], the son of the [[Francis Wollaston (Priest and Astronomer)|Francis Wollaston]] (1737–1815), a noted amateur astronomer, and his wife Althea Hyde. He was one of 17 children, but the family was financially well-off and he enjoyed an intellectually stimulating environment. He was educated privately (and remotely{{explain|date=March 2025}}) at [[Charterhouse School]] from 1774 to 1778 then studied Sciences at [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]. In 1793 he obtained his doctorate (MD) in [[medicine]] from [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], and was a Fellow of his college from 1787 to 1828.<ref name="eb"/>

He worked as a physician in [[Huntingdon]] from 1789 then moved to [[Bury St Edmunds]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002|date=July 2006|publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|isbn=978-0-902198-84-5|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|access-date=28 January 2020|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074135/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> before moving to [[London]] in 1797.<ref name="eb"/> During his studies, Wollaston had become interested in [[chemistry]], [[crystallography]], [[metallurgy]] and [[physics]]. In 1800, after he had received a large sum of money from one of his older brothers, he left medicine. He concentrated on pursuing his interests in chemistry and other subjects outside his trained vocation.

He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in 1793, where he became an influential member. He served as its president in 1820.<ref name="eb"/> In 1822 he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter W|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterW.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=7 August 2014}}</ref>

Wollaston died in [[London]] 28 December 1828 and was buried in St Nicholas's Churchyard in [[Chislehurst]], England.<ref name="eb"/><ref name="DNB"/>