'Texture of Cork', 1665.

Plate XI - 'Texture of Cork' - taken from Hooke's 'Micrographica', 1665. Robert Hooke was born on the Isle of Wight, and studied at Oxford University. It was whilst at Oxford that he met Robert Boyle, and asisted him in constructing an air pump. In 1660 he moved to London and two years later he became one of the founder members, and 'Curator of Experiments' of the Royal Society. 'Micrographia' was published in 1665 and contains prints of some of the specimens Hooke had viewed under the compound microscope that he designed.