- Born:
- Oct. 31, 1620, Wotton, Surrey, Eng.
- Died:
- Feb. 27, 1706, Wotton (aged 85)
John Evelyn
-
Who was John Evelyn?
John Evelyn (1620–1706) was an English author and country gentleman known for his extensive diary. This diary, maintained throughout his life, is an invaluable source of information about 17th-century English social, cultural, religious, and political life. He wrote around 30 books on fine arts, forestry, and religious topics.
Evelyn served on various commissions, including those focused on London street improvement, the Royal Mint, and the repair of old St. Paul’s. He was also a member of the Royal Society, where he wrote Sylva, or a Discourse of Forest-trees, and the Propagation of Timber.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is John Evelyn best known for?
John Evelyn (1620–1706) is best known as the author of Diary, a detailed record of his life and observations of 17th-century England. This work is an invaluable source of information on the social, cultural, religious, and political life of the period.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
When did John Evelyn live and write?
John Evelyn, an English author and country gentleman, lived from October 31, 1620, to February 27, 1706. He wrote approximately 30 books on forestry, fine arts, and religious subjects. Evelyn is best known for his Diary, which he kept throughout his life and is an important source of information about cultural, social, and political life in 17th-century England. His last important book, Numismata, was published in 1697.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What kind of books and writings did John Evelyn create?
John Evelyn, a 17th-century English author and country gentleman, wrote around 30 books on varied subjects, including the fine arts, forestry, and religious topics.
His notable works include Sylva, or a Discourse of Forest-trees, and the Propagation of Timber, which describes different kinds of trees, their cultivation, and uses, and Sculptura, a book about engraving and etching, where he announced the mezzotint process. Evelyn also wrote Numismata and Life of Mrs. Godolphin, a biography.
Evelyn's Diary, a lifelong project, is an invaluable source of information about 17th-century English social, cultural, religious, and political life.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did John Evelyn's diary help people learn about life in 17th-century England?
John Evelyn's diary, penned throughout his life, serves as a window into 17th-century England's social, cultural, religious, and political life. Unlike Samuel Pepys' diary, Evelyn's writing was less self-centered, focusing more on external observations. His detailed descriptions of events, places, contemporaries, and sermons offer invaluable insights into over 50 years of English history. The diary, published in 1818, reveals his keen interest in diverse topics, such as Tudor architecture and sermon rhetoric, providing a comprehensive view of the Restoration world.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why is John Evelyn considered important in English history and literature?
John Evelyn is an important figure in English history and literature because his Diary is an invaluable source of information about 17th-century England's social, cultural, religious, and political life. His writings range from bald memoranda to elaborate set pieces, with descriptions of places and events, characters of contemporaries, and many reports of sermons, bearing witness to more than 50 years of English life. Evelyn was also the author of some 30 books on the fine arts, forestry, and religious topics.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
John Evelyn (born Oct. 31, 1620, Wotton, Surrey, Eng.—died Feb. 27, 1706, Wotton) was an English country gentleman, author of some 30 books on the fine arts, forestry, and religious topics. His Diary, kept all his life, is considered an invaluable source of information on the social, cultural, religious, and political life of 17th-century England.
Son of a wealthy landowner, after studying in the Middle Temple, London, and at Balliol College, Oxford, Evelyn decided not to join the Royalist cause in the English Civil War for fear of endangering his brother’s estate at Wotton, then in parliamentary territory. In 1643, therefore, he went abroad, first to France and then to Rome, Venice, and Padua, returning to Paris in 1646, where the following year he married Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Browne, Charles I’s diplomatic representative to France. In 1652, during the Commonwealth, he returned to England and acquired his father-in-law’s estate, Sayes Court, at Deptford. In 1659 he published two Royalist pamphlets.
At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Evelyn was well received by Charles II; he served on a variety of commissions, including those concerned with London street improvement (1662), the Royal Mint (1663), and the repair of old St. Paul’s (1666). Far more important was the commission for sick and wounded mariners and for prisoners of war in Charles II’s Dutch Wars (1665–67, 1672–74), during which Evelyn exposed himself to plague and incurred personal expenses, reimbursement for which he was still petitioning in 1702. At that time he received help from Samuel Pepys (a navy official and, likewise, a diarist), with whom he formed a lifelong friendship.
Evelyn served on a council for colonial affairs from 1671 to 1674. He was appointed to the council of the Royal Society by its first and second charters in 1662 and 1663 and remained a lifelong member. In this capacity in 1664 he produced for the commissioners of the navy Sylva, or a Discourse of Forest-trees, and the Propagation of Timber, a description of the various kinds of trees, their cultivation, and uses. The study, with numerous modifications, had gone through 10 editions by 1825. In 1662 Evelyn produced Sculptura, a small book on engraving and etching, in which he announced a new process, the mezzotint.
About 1670 Evelyn formed a paternal affection for Margaret Blagge, a maid of honour at court, who later secretly married Sidney Godolphin, future lord high treasurer. She died after giving birth to a child in 1678; Evelyn’s Life of Mrs. Godolphin (1847; ed. H. Sampson, 1939), is one of the most moving of 17th-century biographies.
In 1685, a few months after James II’s accession, Evelyn was appointed one of three commissioners for the privy seal, an office he held for 15 months. Evelyn’s last important book, Numismata, was published in 1697.
His Diary, begun when he was 11 years old and first published in 1818 (ed. E.S. de Beer, 6 vol., 1955), was written for himself alone but with relatively little about himself in it. It ranges from bald memoranda to elaborate set pieces. With its descriptions of places and events, characters of contemporaries, and many reports of sermons, it bears witness to more than 50 years of English life and, as such, is of great historical value.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
