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Henry Coley

English astrologer and mathematician

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 2, 2025
Entity authorityQ18528469
Source-derived summary

Henry Coley (18 October 1633 – 30 April 1704) was an astrologer and mathematician, and amanuensis of William Lilly.

Early life and career

Coley was born, as shown in an inscription round a portrait of him by Robert White, found in some of his works, on 18 October 1633 in Oxford. His father was a joiner. In 1648 he became a clerk in the Parliamentary army; in 1654 he moved to London and worked as a ladies' tailor in Gray's Inn Lane.

In 1656 he married and they had one child; in 1660, after his wife's death, he married again; their son born in 1661 died soon after birth. He taught himself mathematics, astrology, Latin and French. From 1663 he lived in Baldwins Gardens, where he taught astrology and mathematics, and received clients. By the 1670s he had a flourishing practice.

In 1669 Coley published Clavis Astrologiæ Elimata; or a Key to the whole Art of Astrology, new filed and polished. It was well received.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Henry Coley” as english astrologer and mathematician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Henry, Coley and English.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1633, 1704, 1648, 1654—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1633-01-17. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Henry, Coley and English providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Henry Coley”, the useful work is to connect “english astrologer and mathematician” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q18528469. VIAF identifies the subject as 281137997. The Library of Congress control number is n84177453. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1633, 1704, 1648 and 1654.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

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  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Henry Coley”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Henry Coley primary sources, Henry Coley archive and Henry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Henry Coley” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.