Thomas Firmin ( 1632 - 1697 )

Birth: Ipswich, Suffolk, England (June 1632) Death: 20 December 1697 Burial: The cloisters at Christ's Hospital, London Profession: Mercer Career: Started up in business as a girdler and mercer with capital of £100; friend of John Wilkins (FRS 1663) and John Tillotson (FRS 1672); provided employment for people thrown out of work by the plague (1665); his business premises were destroyed in the Great Fire (1666) and rebuilt some years later; Governor of Christ's Hospital (1673); passed the management of his business to his nephew, Jonathan James, and devoted himself to philanthropy (1676); employed more than 1700 people in linen manufacture, in unusually good conditions and at a loss to himself, gave industrial training to children rescued from the streets, freed hundreds imprisoned for small debts, and helped in the relief of refugees from Poland, France and Ireland; Governor of St Thomas's Hospital (1693); died of typhoid Membership: Fellow Election Date: 29/01/1680 Proposers: Robert Hooke.