Thomas Plume

Thomas Plume (1630 – 20 November 1704) was an English churchman and philanthropist, and founder of a library in Maldon, Essex which still exists.

Although Plume spent most of his life in the Church, he was aware of intellectual changes taking place in other academic fields.

It was kept in St Peter's Church, of which only the original west tower survives; the rest of the building was rebuilt by Plume to house his library.

The library was to be "for the use of the minister and clergy of the neighbouring parishes who generally make this town their place of residence on account of the unwholesomeness of the air in the vicinity of their churches".

Plume left specific instruction for the use of the library: "any Gentleman or Scholar who desires, may go into it, and make use of any book there or borrow it, in case he leaves a vadimonium [a pledge or surety] with the Keeper for the restoring thereof fair and uncorrupted within a short time".

[6] In 1704 Thomas Plume founded the chair of Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at the University of Cambridge in order to "erect an Observatory and to maintain a studious and learned Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, and to buy him and his successors utensils and instruments quadrants telescopes etc".

he devoted to the foundation of a chair at Cambridge, bequeathing the money to William Covell, Master of Christ's; Richard Bentley, master of Trinity; Francis Thompson, of Caius; and William Whiston, Lucasian professor, to "erect an observatory and to maintain a professor of astronomy and experimental philosophy, and to buy or build a house with or near the same."