Maj-Gen Charles Boyle, KT, PC, FRS

4th Earl of Orrery, 1st Baron Boyle of Marston in the county of Somerset

Born: 28 Jul 1674 in Glasshouse Street, Westminster, England

Father: Roger Boyle, 2nd Earl of Orrery

• Born: abt 1646
• Christened: 24 Aug 1646 in Christ Church, Dublin, Ireland
• Died: 29 Mar 1682
• Buried: 5 Apr 1682 in Youghal Abbey, Youghal, Cork, Ireland

Mother: Lady Mary Sackville (daughter of Frances Cranfield and Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset)

• Born: 4 Feb 1647/48
• Christened: 11 Feb 1647/48 in St Bride, London, Middlesex, England
• Married: 6 Feb 1664/65 in St Bride, London, Middlesex, England
• Died: 4 Nov 1710 in Park Place, Westminster, Middlesex, England
• Buried: 6 Nov 1710 in St Bride, London, Middlesex, England

Wife: Lady Elizabeth Cecil (only daughter of Elizabeth Brownlow and John Cecil, 6th Earl of Exeter)

• Born: abt 1687 in Snape Hall, Yorkshire, England
• Married: 30 Mar 1706
• Children:
  • John Boyle 5th Earl of Cork and Orrery, 2nd Baron Boyle of Marston in the county of Somerset
    • Born: 13 Jan 1706 in Glasshouse Street, Westminster, England
    • Christened: 18 Jan 1706 in St James', Westminster, England
    • Married (1): Henrietta Hamilton (youngest daughter of George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney) on 9 May 1728
    • Married (2): Margaret Hamilton (daughter of John Hamilton, of Caledon, co Tyrone) on 30 Jun 1738
    • Died: 23 Nov 1762 in Marston House, Frome, Somerset, England
    • Buried: Frome, Somerset, England
• Died: 12 Jun 1708 in Westminster, England

Key Historical Events:

• MP for Charleville in the Irish House of Commons between 1695 and 1699
• MP for Huntingdon between 1701 and 1705
• Acceded to the title of Earl of Orrery on 31 August 1703 as a result of his elder brother Lionel Boyle's death.
• Became a Knight (KT) in The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle
• Appointed as Colonel of The Royal Scots Fusiliers on 8 Dec 1710
• Created Baron Boyle of Marston in the county of Somerset on 5 September 1711.
• Appointed Custodes Rotulorum in Somerset on 1 December 1714
• Committed to the Tower upon suspicion of high treason on 28 September 1722 for six months but released on bail after it was determined that his imprisonment was dangerous to his health.

Died: 28 Aug 1731 in Westminster, England

Buried: 11 Sep 1731 in Westminster Abbey, Westminster, England

Author whose works include the comedy "As you find it".

The orrery, an apparatus showing the relative positions and motions of bodies in the solar system by balls moved by wheelwork, was invented by George Graham under Charles' patronage.