The life of Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher James Wren was an English designer, astronomer and perhaps more importantly an architect who lived in the 17th Century. Widely considered by many to be the most important English architect of his time, Wren was born in October 20, 1632 and died in February 25, 1723.
In addition to many notable secular structures, Christopher James Wren also designed a staggering 53 London churches, among them the majestic St. Paul's Cathedral. As founder of the Royal Society and its president from 1680 to 1682, the noted scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal held his scientific accomplishments in high regard.
Wren was born to Christopher Wren DD at East Knoyle in Wiltshire and actually had a brother also named Christopher who unfortunately died shortly after being born. At the time of Wren's birth, Christopher Wren DD was a rector of East Knoyle and later on became Dean of Windsor.
Christopher James Wren was quite sickly as a child and was thought to be consumptive. Surprisingly though, he went on to live a long and productive life. His first educational experiences were at home, as was the custom during those times and he was educated mostly by a private tutor and his father. When Wren's father was appointed as Dean of Windsor in 1635, the entire family started to spend a lot of time there. Relatively little details are known about Wren's life in Windsor during this period and while he may have had occasion to come in contact with the young Charles I, it is highly unlikely that the two spent much time together and became friends as was reported by some accounts.
The vagueness of Christopher James Wren's life applied to his educational life as well. Although some reports place him at Westminster School from 1641 to 1646, these reports were again unconfirmed. In any case, he received substantial instruction in Latin around this time and also learned to draw, although his exercises from that time period cannot be dated precisely. What is known though is that he received a cursory introduction to mathematics from Dr. William Holder, who later on married Wren's older sister Susan in 1643.
Wren later met Sir Charles Scarburgh (most likely through Holder) and assisted him in various anatomical studies and at the same time developing an interest in mechanical instrument construction and design.
St. Paul's Cathedral has always been considered Christopher James Wren's lasting contribution to the architectural world and he had a 36-year long association with the structure beginning with its inception, up until its completion in 1711.
Beginning in 1670, Wren began working on a variety of secular projects that highlighted the maturity and diversity of his talents. These structures are remarkable architectural achievements that are still admired to this day such as the Royal Observatory, the trinity College Library in Cambridge and the monument to the Great Fire. While the Royal Observatory and the monument to the Great Fire were accomplished with the help of Robert Hooke, ultimately Wren was responsible for the final design.
Original Authors:Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: RPN
Updated On: 06/03/2007
