As I have said in the introduction, through the centuries the Wollastons have been making their contributions to the fabric of life. Some like William Hyde Wollaston and Gerald Woods Wollaston figure quite prominently; others play lesser roles. Amongst them are:
Thomas Vernon Wollaston (1822-1878) was, Like many Wollastons educated at Cambridge. A Fellow of the Linnean Society, he was well known as an entomologist and conchologist. In 1856 he published a book on the variation of species which anticipated Darwin's "Origin of the Species" by three years. He was a friend of Darwin, but he seems to have lacked the latter's confidence and thrust.
Charlotte Wollaston (1808-1882) felt strongly that good literature should be available to everyone. In pursuit of this aim, she helped to establish 117 parish libraries in and around Tunbridge Wells. She contributed £400 herself.
Francis John Hyde Wollaston (1762-1823) was a man with many facets to his character, attaining fairly high office both in scientific education and in the church . A graduate of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, he became first of all, in 1783, a lecturer in mathematics at the college before becoming (1785) a fellow and tutor of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. In 1792 he became Jacksonian Professor of Natural and Philosophy, a post he held until 1813. He lectured on chemistry and experimental philosophy.
He was also ordained and became rector of South Weald, Essex in 1794. In 1802 he was appointed a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral. In 1813 he became rector of Cold Norton, Essex and was appointed as Rrector of Dereham, Suffolk in 1815. In 1814 he became Archdeacon of Essex.
The torsion balance for determining the universal gravitational constant G was first devised and built by John Michell, Rector of Thornhill, near Dewsbury. He died before having time to use it and it was passed to Francis, who was at the time Jacksonian Professor at Cambridge. He in turn did not have time to use it and passed it on to Henry Cavendish, who used it at his house in Clapham, south London. Lord Brougham's account attributed the balance to Cavendish.
Arthur Naylor Wollaston (1842-1922) spent all his career in the Records Division of the India Office, becoming Registrar and Superintendent of Records. Although he never visited the East he studied Persian, with the support of his employers and became an authority on that language.
In 1881 he was selected to superintend the translation of oriental inscriptions in South Kensington Museum. His chief claim to fame, however, was the a massive Anglo-Persian dictionary. This was the first of its kind and he had to devise Persian equivalents for a number of English terms. He also wrote several other books connected with the Near-East.
Charles Henry Reynolds Wollaston (1849-1926) achieved renown,not in science or the church like many Wollastons, but in sport. He played cricket for the gentlemen of Sussex. In association football he acchieved the distinction of playng for England against Scotland in 1874, 1875, 1877, and 1880. He belonged to the Wanderers, a leading club of that time, and was their captain in 1880.
One of his main interests was climbing in the Alps, which he visited every year from 1889 until his death in 1926.A member of the Alpine Club from 1892, he was the Club's secretary from 1912 to 1919. He was elected vice-president in 1918.
Charlton James Wollaston (1820-1915) was one of the two engineers responsible for the first submarine telegraph cable ever laid. The other engineer, Mr Brett, was the one responsible for the idea; but it was Charlton who put the idea into practice.
The cable was laid across the English Channel in 1850. It was very fragile but was thought at the time to have all the strength needed. It was constructed of a copper bell wire covered with two or three coatings of gutta-percha. There was no external protection. Large lead weights were placed at intervals along the line to sink it. They started to lay the cable from Dover at between 9 and 10 a.m.. It was attached to a drum on a tug and paid out over the side. They arrived at Cape Griz Nez about 9 p.m. and a Morse message was received from Dover that evening.
It was not an unqualified success. After a short time in the water the insulation of the cable became defective. Within a day or two of completion the cable was fouled in the net of a French trawler. The skipper of the trawler was deaf and dumb and did not know about the laying of the cable. By coincidence the engineer who went to investigate was a volunteer interpreter at the Deaf and Dumb Church in London and was able to find out what had happened. A more permanent cable was laid later.
Source:
The History of the Wollastons. Henry Woods Wollaston
The Rev. John Michell, astronomer and geologist, John Richard Sutton ; Knowledge 15 (1892) 188-191 & 206-208