Sir Christopher Wren would have celebrated his 382nd birthday today, had he lived to such a ripe old age, and Google has created a Doodle to mark the occasion. Clicking on the illustration triggers a short animation depicting a stylised rise of Wren’s St Paul’s Cathedral, construction of which began in 1675. It opened in 1708.
Born as the son of the Dean of Windsor in East Knoyle, Wiltshire in 1632, Wren showed an early talent for mathematics and was appointed professor of astronomy at Gresham College in London in 1657 before taking the same role at Oxford University four years later.
He was one of the founding members of the Royal Society in 1662, and three years later visited Paris, where he was strongly influenced by French and Italian baroque styles. Following the Great Fire in 1666, he designed 51 new churches for the capital in addition to St Paul’s.
Wren was knighted in 1673 and two years later was commissioned to design the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. He was also responsible for the facade of Hampton Court Palace.
He lived a remarkably long life for the time, dying in 1723 at the age of 91.
