Hooke as surveyorIn 1666, Robert Hooke furnished to the Royal Society a model for rebuilding the city of London following the Great Fire that had devasted 80% the city 2-5 Sep 1666. According to Sir David Brewster, “Although his plan was not executed, he was appointed one of the surveyors under the act of parliament; a situation in which he realized a considerable sum of money, which was found after his death in a large iron chest, that appeared to have been shut up for 30 years.” In fact, Charless II appointed six Commissioners to redesign the city with wider streets, and brick buildings to replace the timber structures that were so vulnerable to the fire. Famously, a new St. Paul's Cathedral was the work of Sir Christopher Wren, along with nearly 50 other churches, and the Monument to the Great Fire.«[Ref: Sir David Brewster, The Edinburgh Encyclopedia (1832), Vol. 10, 467.] |
