Jonathan Goddard (1617–1675) was an English physician, known both as army surgeon to the forces of Oliver Cromwell, and as an active member of the Royal Society.
The son of a wealthy shipbuilder, Goddard was a student at the Magdalen Hall, Oxford, he qualified in medicine at the University of Cambridge. [1] He joined the College of Physicians in 1643, [2] and became physician to Charles I of England when he was held captive by Parliament. In the 1650s he was made Warden of Merton College, Oxford (1651), and was one of the ' Oxford club' group around John Wilkins. [3] He was also a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in the Barebone's Parliament of 1653. He became Professor of Physic at Gresham College in 1655. [4] He performed some experiments here with chemist Johannes Banfi Hunyades that constitute the first extant example of temperature measurement in distillation. [5]
He was one of five doctors attending Cromwell when he died (the others being George Bate, John Bathurst, Thomas Trapham and Laurence Wright). [6]
On the English Restoration of 1660, he lost his position at Merton. But his early position in the Royal Society was solid (he became a founding Fellow in November, 1660), [7] and indeed at the beginning of 1661, when the Society was homeless and moved to Gresham College, it met in his lodgings. [8]
He was buried in the chancel of Great St Helens church, London.