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Everyone will be familiar with the name of the first person to go to space and the moon, but surely many will be unfamiliar with the first person who proposed to go into space, John Wilkins.
John Wilkins (1672-1614), a theological and philosopher, married Oliver Cromwell’s younger sister, Rubina. Due to his passion for knowledge and philosophy, he was an expert in many sciences. He founded the Royal Society, and in his two books, he gave the view that vehicles made in the style of chariots and take humans to the moon. The names of these books are The Discovery of a World in the Moone (1638) and A Discourse concerning a New Planet (1640).
Like many other scientists and philosophers, he believed that the moon and other planets are inhabited and that we should not only meet the inhabitants there but also trade and so on. It gave the impression that people exist in the world because of magnetism, and if it were possible to reach a height above twenty miles, those traveling in space would be free to fly or swim their way to the moon. And breathing will not be such a problem as the astronauts will soon be able to get into the clean atmosphere in which the angels breathe.
Wilkins’s book Mercury, or the Secret and Swift Messenger (1641) is the first English language book to be written in cryptology.
Wilkins, along with his assistant Robert Hook, who was also a technician, tried to make flying machines at Wadham College, Oxford, during the 1650s. After a few years of similar exploration, he was able to better understand the space and realized that travel in space was far more complicated than he thought.
He became famous for his essay An Essay toward a Real Character and a Philosophical Language (1668) in which he introduced the concept of a universal language and a new measurement system that was similar to the metric system. He also served as master of Trinity College and founded the Oxford Philosophical Club, combining scientists and philosophers during his work at Wadham.
During the political changes in England, he was discharged from college due to his relationship with Cromwell and spent the rest of his life serving the church.
Although traveling in space and going to the moon has not been possible for many centuries after his death. However, it is undoubtedly the credit for introducing this notion to the well-known British scientist and philosopher.
