Birch Thomas

Birch, Thomas, was born in London in 1705, of a Quaker family, and was intended to make coffee-mills, as his father had done. However, his tastes lay in another direction, and by hard work he qualified as a clergyman of the Established Church, and, obtaining the patronage of Lord Hardwicke, received valuable preferments, the last being the rectory of Debden, Essex. He was also private chaplain to Princess Amelia. But it was as an antiquarian and literary man that he acquired fame. In 1735 he was made F.R.S., and from 1752 to 1765 was secretary to the Royal Society, of which he wrote a history. He was also a trustee of the British Museum, to which he left his library. His works were very numerous, and covered a wide range of subjects, but none of them possess lasting interest. He was killed by a fall from his horse in 1765.