John Ray

In 1673, he wedded Margaret Oakley of Launton.

In 1676, he began to live in Sutton Coldfield and the following year, he relocated to Falborne Hall in Essex.

In 1679, he moved to Black Notley, where he lived for the rest of his life. Here, he suffered from poor health and chronic sores.

John Ray was born in the village of Black Notley, near Braintree. His father Roger Ray was the village blacksmith and mother Elizabeth Ray was an amateur herbalist and medical practitioner.

At 16, he was enrolled at the Cambridge University, where he studied at the Trinity College and Catharine Hall. In 1649, he was selected as a minor fellow at Trinity and later a major fellow.

From 1651, he held various academic positions as a fellow at Trinity, teaching Greek, humanities and mathematics. He also served as a praelector, junior dean and college steward.

He was well versed with preaching, which he often did at the college chapel and also at the Great St Mary's. On December 23, 1660, he officially received his holy orders. That year he published, ‘Catalogue of Cambridge plants'.

On August 24, 1662, he resigned from his fellowship along with 13 other fellows as they could not subscribe to the ‘Bartholomew Act’ of 1662.

His religious beliefs were in sync with the ones imposed under the restoration of Charles II of England. He was thus technically a nonconformist but continued with the Established Church of England.

From the spring of 1663 to March 1666, he went on a tour of Europe along with some of his pupils like Francis Willughby, Philip Skippon and Nathaniel Bacon.

In 1668, he came out with his work titled, ‘Tables of plants' and 'Catalogue of English plants plus Fasiculus (an appendix)'. He subsequently published, ‘Catalogue of English proverbs'.

In 1669, along with Francis Willughby, he came out with his first piece of work on Philosophical Transactions titled, ‘Experiments concerning the Motion of Sap in Trees'.

In 1667, he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society.