Charles Hayes
Who was Charles Hayes?
British mathematician (1678–1760)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Charles Hayes (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Charles Hayes (1678–1760) was an English mathematician, chronologist, and slave trader whose career combined scientific study and colonial business. Born in England in 1678, he made significant contributions to mathematics while also holding leadership roles in the Royal African Company, a key player in early modern trade.
Hayes is best known in mathematics for his 1704 book, A Treatise of Fluxions, or, An Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy. This was one of the first English books on calculus, based on Isaac Newton's method of fluxions. By making these ideas more accessible, Hayes helped spread Newton's calculus at a time when the mathematical community was still figuring out the basics of infinitesimal analysis. His work came before more famous works by other British mathematicians and was an early effort to explain Newtonian mathematics to a wider audience.
In addition to his work in mathematics, Hayes was heavily involved in British colonial trade. He was a deputy governor of the Royal African Company, which was central to the transatlantic slave trade in the late 1600s and early 1700s. The company transported enslaved Africans to British colonies in the Americas, and Hayes's role put him in a leadership position overseeing these operations. His involvement with the Royal African Company shows how intellectual and business interests were connected among educated people of his time.
Hayes also explored chronology and biblical history, showing a wide range of scholarly interests common to educated men of his era. He wrote about ancient timelines and historical geography, contributing to the study of history that was popular in eighteenth-century Britain. While less known than his mathematical work, these pursuits show his interest in time, history, and the organization of knowledge.
Hayes died in London in 1760 at about eighty-two years old. His life spanned the major changes of the early Enlightenment, from Newtonian science to the growth of the British empire. He is a figure whose career requires thought about both its intellectual contributions and its role in the exploitation of enslaved people.
Before Fame
Little is known about Charles Hayes's childhood or education. He was born in England in 1678, a time of significant political and intellectual change following the Restoration of the monarchy and just before the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The late seventeenth century saw the founding of the Royal Society and the publication of Newton's Principia Mathematica in 1687, which greatly influenced the intellectual world for someone interested in mathematics.
By the early eighteenth century, Hayes had made a name for himself in business and intellectual circles, publishing his treatise on fluxions in 1704 and taking on roles within the Royal African Company. While we don't have exact details of his education and early work, his knowledge of Newtonian mathematics and his roles in a major company suggest a background that combined formal education with connections to London's business elite.
Key Achievements
- Authored A Treatise of Fluxions (1704), one of the first English-language books explicating Newton's method of fluxions
- Served as deputy governor of the Royal African Company, one of the most powerful trading organizations in early eighteenth-century Britain
- Contributed to the fields of chronology and historical geography through published scholarly works
- Helped disseminate Newtonian mathematical methods to broader audiences before more widely known British expositions appeared
Did You Know?
- 01.Hayes's 1704 Treatise of Fluxions was one of the earliest book-length expositions of Newtonian calculus published in the English language.
- 02.He served as deputy governor of the Royal African Company, a body that by some estimates transported over 100,000 enslaved Africans across the Atlantic during its years of operation.
- 03.Hayes lived to approximately eighty-two years of age, an unusually long life for the early eighteenth century.
- 04.In addition to mathematics, Hayes wrote on chronology and sought to reconcile ancient historical records with biblical timelines, a popular scholarly pursuit of his era.
- 05.His career spanned the reigns of five British monarchs, from Charles II through George II.