Walter Charleton was born on February 13, 1619, in Somerset of United Kingdom. He was well educated as he was able to attend Oxford University. He was given a physician degree from Magdalen Hall, Oxford. After getting his degree he was to be the physician for King Charles I. Walter Charleton was also welcomed into the early years of the Royal Society in 1663. The Royal Society was started in 1660, it was a group of philosophers and scientists whose goal was to use scientific knowledge to benefit human life. It was founded by Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, and John Wilkins. While he was a royalist he was appointed to be the doctor for King Charles II. He was then also inducted as a fellow as part of the Royal College of Physicians. Years later he was then the President of the College of Physicians.
He is much known for how he brought Epicurius’ ideas to England. Namely, in this scientific idea of atomism, Epicurus believed that the world is made out of indivisible small particles of matter or also atoms. In one of his most popular works, Physiologia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charltoniana Charleton takes a deep dive into Atomism. In this, he also looks into how we can see the invisible by understanding the visible. This idea as it is kind of cartesian may come from Descarte’s influence on Charleton. Charleton derived this work from multiple philosophers who came before him such as Epicurus, Descarte, and Gassendi.
While Charleton was part of the Royal Society he also was working to figure out who built Stonehenge. He came to the conclusion it must have been the Danes. The Danes are the people who would have inhibited the area at the time. His findings and reasoning for this were found in his work Chorea Gigantum. By this, he was not only a scientist but he was a well-rounded individual with an understanding of many different fields. He also covered theories of psychology such as in his work Discourse Concerning the Different Wits of Men. In this writing, he talked about how men act differently and why. By this, he defines a man’s “wit” and how it correlates to nature.
Even though he is known for being a staple of how Epicurus’ ideas came to England he studied a broad range of subjects in sciences. Not only looking into human nature and how we act but also diseases. In his work Exercitationes Pathologicae he studied the causes of diseases. This was not from studying diseases by data and how we mainly study diseases today. Yet, he studied the causes from a theoretical perspective. Charleton as a philosopher and scientist and part of the Royal Society made most of his money from being the physician of Charles II. Walter Charleton was also heavily influenced by those who came before him. As he was prolific in both Greek and Latin. He was able to translate The Life of Marcellus from Greek. He also wrote in Latin Cavendish’s biography of her husband. As a polymath, he was able to understand the world in many different ways.