Benjamin Robins ( 1707 - 1751 )

Birth: Bath, Somerset, England (1707) Death Place: Fort St David, Cuddalore, Madras, India (29 July 1751) Profession: Teacher; Engineer; Author Research Field: Mathematics, military engineering Career: Came to London at the suggestion of Henry Pemberton (FRS 1720) and taught mathematics to private pupils; soon abandoned his Quaker faith; travelled in Flanders to study the fortifications there; engaged in civil and military engineering; invented the ballistic pendulum, a device for measuring the velocity of a projectile; invited by the Prince of Orange to fortify Bergen-op-Zoom, but it fell to the French before he had started work; Engineer-General to the HEIC (1749-death) Membership: Fellow Election Date: 9/11/1727 Awards: Copley Medal 1745 Proposers: Sylvanus Bevan.