Boyle, Robert
Boyle, Robert (1627-1691), a British chemist and physicist. In 1662 he discovered a basic principle of the physics of gases, a principle now known as Boyle's Law. Boyle was born in Ireland, a son of the Earl of Cork. He was educated at Eton, Geneva, and Oxford. He believed that all matter could be isolated by experiment and classified. This theory influenced the research of the 18th-century French scientist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, founder of modern chemistry. Boyle was a founder of the Royal Society and was its president, 1680-91.