Birth of William Petty
William Petty is born at Romsey in Hampshire.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
William Petty Biography and Timeline
Follow William Petty through 10 dated historical records for England.
William Petty, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
10Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1623–1687Years on this page
1623
1651
Professor of Anatomy at Oxford
Petty becomes professor of anatomy at Oxford.
1652
Physician General in Ireland
Petty goes to Ireland as physician-general to the English army.
1654
Down Survey
Petty begins organising the Down Survey, a large-scale mapping of Irish land.
1660
Royal Society Founding Circle
Petty participates in the group whose meetings lead to the foundation of the Royal Society.
1661
Knighthood
William Petty is knighted by Charles II.
1662
Treatise of Taxes and Contributions
Petty publishes A Treatise of Taxes and Contributions.
1672
Political Anatomy of Ireland Written
Petty writes The Political Anatomy of Ireland.
1676
Political Arithmetick Written
Petty writes Political Arithmetick, applying quantitative reasoning to state and economic questions.
1687
Death of William Petty
William Petty dies in London.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.