Sir Christopher Wren

Ann Stewart Balakier (University of South Dakota)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

Born 20 Oct 1632
Died 25 Feb 1723
Activity 1653-1723

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Architect

Resources

Wren's Works

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Sir Isaac Newton in his

Principia

named Christopher as one of the pre-eminent mathematicians of the day, but it was as an architect that he was to become famous. Sir Christopher Wren, with his student Nicholas Hawksmoor and colleague Sir John Vanbrugh, dominated late seventeenth and early-eighteenth century Baroque architecture in England. Following the Great Fire of 1666, Wren was the most influential figure in the rebuilding of the city. His greatest renown was for

St. Paul's Cathedral, but his major public buildings, and the delicacy and variety displayed in the fifty-or-so parish churches, also contribute to his enduring influence in architecture down to the present day.

Wren was born October 20, 1632 in East Knoyle, Wiltshire into a royalist clerical family. His father, also

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2105 words

Citation: Balakier, Ann Stewart. "Sir Christopher Wren". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 August 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4807, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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