, an ingenious electrician, was born in the parish of St. Martin’s,
, an ingenious
electrician, was born in the parish of St. Martin’s, London,
in 1710. His father having escaped from France to Holland, upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes, came
over to England with king William. He died soon after
the birth of his son, who was brought up by his uncle, an
officer in the English service, and page of honour to queen
Mary, who placed him at Westminster school. Whilst
pursuing his studies there, he boarded in the house of Dr.
Desaguliers, who instructed him in the mathematics and
natural philosophy. At the age of seventeen, before he
had left school, he married; and went to Leyden and followed his studies in the university of that place. In 1740,
he began to read lectures in experimental philosophy at
Edinburgh, and continued them till he was interrupted by
the rebellion. He then took up arms for government,
and was a volunteer at the battle of Preston-pans. In
1746, he resumed his lectures, and published his discovery
of the effects of electricity upon the growth of vegetables.
This discovery was afterwards claimed by abbé Nollet;
but is very properly assigned to Dr. Demainbray by Dr.
Priestley, in his “History of Electricity.
” In