Peter Collinson (1694–1768) was a Fellow of the Royal Society best known for his friendship with Benjamin Franklin and their correspondence about electricity.
Born the son of a London woollen draper he entered his father's business and developed an interest in botany. His family belonged to the Gracechurch meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (or Quakers).
In October 1728 Collinson wrote to Sir Hans Sloane, President of the Royal Society, about strange events in Kent and on 7 November, 1728 he was proposed for Fellowship of the society.
Collinson sold his cloth to Americans and through his business contacts he obtained samples of seeds and plants to study. He came to realise that there was a market for such things in England and began to import exotic American botanical specimens for English collectors.
He became friendly with notable scientists including Sloane, Linnaeus and Benjamin Franklin. It was through Collinson that Franklin communicated to the Royal Society what would in 1751 be published as Experiments and Observations on Electricity.
External links
References
Geoffrey Cantor, 'Quakers in the Royal Society 1660-1750', Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 51 (2), pp. 175–193 (1997)