What is John Evelyn known for?

John Evelyn is best known for his detailed personal diary, which provides a rich historical account of 17th-century England. He also wrote influential works on gardening, forestry, and environmental issues, and was a member of the Royal Society.

What did John Evelyn write about?

Evelyn wrote about a wide range of topics including gardening, environmental concerns, forestry, and art history. His most notable works include *Sylva*, *Elysium*, and *Fumifugium*.

Was John Evelyn associated with any institutions?

Yes, he was a member of the Royal Society, founded in 1660, and was an active participant in the scientific and intellectual community of his time.

What were John Evelyn's contributions to environmentalism?

Evelyn was among the first to address environmental issues in print. In *Fumifugium*, he criticized the pollution in London and advocated for cleaner air, making an early case for environmental reform.

Did John Evelyn have any formal education?

Yes, he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied theology and law.

What was John Evelyn's role in the Royal Society?

He was a founding fellow of the Royal Society, contributing to its early development as a learned society for science. He also presented papers and promoted experimental philosophy.

John Evelyn

writer, gardener and diarist (1620-1706)

Person human Q342712

John Evelyn — Godfrey Kneller · Public Domain · Wikimedia

Facts

32 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[30]
Date of birth: October 31, 1620, 1620^[10]
Date of death: February 27, 1706, 1706^[11]
Place of birth: Wotton
Place of death: London
Country of citizenship: Kingdom of England^[22]
Occupation: horticulturist, gardener, diarist, writer, art historian, garden designer, architect, landscape architect^[23]^[24]^[25]
Educated at: Balliol College, Lewes Old Grammar School^[26]^[27]
Father: Richard Evelyn^[12]
Mother: Eleanor Stansfield^[13]
Spouse: Mary Evelyn^[14]
Child: Mary Evelyn, Susanna Evelyn, Richard Evelyn, John S. Evelyn, John Evelyn le Jeune, George Evelyn, Richard Evelyn, Elizabeth Evelyn^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]
Sibling: Elizabeth Evelyn, George Evelyn, Jane Evelyn
Languages spoken, written or signed: English, Ancient Greek^[41]^[42]
Artist files at: Frick Art Research Library
Copyright status as a creator: copyrights on works have expired
Depicted by: John Evelyn (1620–1706)^[33]
Described by source: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, BEIC Digital Library, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Men of Kent and Kentishmen, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, Library of the World's Best Literature, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition^[34]^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]
Family name: Evelyn^[31]
Given name: John^[32]
Has works in the collection: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Yale Center for British Art
Member of: Royal Society^[29]
Name in native language: John Evelyn^[43]

Show all 32 facts +8

On focus list of Wikimedia project: WikiProject PCC Wikidata Pilot/Frick Art Reference Library
Owner of: John Evelyn's cabinet
P14397: 1557
P14536: 404207
P14608: 118682822
P14977: RETE030287
Student: Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin^[28]
Writing language: English

🏷️ Also known as

en John Evelyn ar جون إفلين ar جون إيفلين de Fumifugium de Sylva el Τζον Έβελιν he ג'ון אוולין hi जॉन इवलिन ja ジョン・イベリン ja ジョン・イーヴリン ja ジョン・イヴリン ja ジョン・エヴリン ko 존 이블린 ru Джон Ивлин ru Ивлин, Джон zh 約翰·伊夫林 zh 約翰·艾伏林 zh 约翰·伊夫林 zh 约翰·艾弗林 zh-hans 约翰·艾弗林

🔖 Identifiers · 125

ISNI: 0000000110279533
VIAF cluster ID: 61653698
Library of Congress authority ID: n50009162
GND ID: 118682822
Alvin ID: alvin-person:6089
American Academy in Rome ID: 12409481
Arab Encyclopedia concept ID: 857, 1680
Archive Site Trinity College Cambridge ID: evelyn-john-1620-1706-diarist-and-writer
Artists of the World ID: 10209287T
AskArt person ID: 11210290
BHL creator ID: 20305
BIBSYS ID: 90234480

Show all 125 identifiers +113

Benezit ID: B00060401
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12511070x
Biblissima authority ID: Labour Party
Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts person ID: 718
Book Owners Online person ID: John_Evelyn
Bridgeman artist ID: 54378
British Museum person or institution ID: 26672
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: evelyn-john
CANTIC ID: 981058608087606706
CERL Thesaurus ID: cnp01440570
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf11950295
CiNii Research ID: 1140282266788757632
DDB person (GND) ID: 118682822
De Agostini ID: Evelyn,+John
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 118682822
Dictionary of Art Historians ID: evelynj
Early Modern Letters Online person ID: 516e7186-2f2d-4f05-bc6c-2825b7a75d02
Electronic Enlightenment ID: evelyjohn0025298
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/John-Evelyn
FAST ID: 2615
FINA Wiki ID: 2835
Find a Grave memorial ID: 18333776
Freebase ID: /m/01b8ks
Frick Art Research Library Artist File ID: 991004043039707141
Genealogics.org person ID: I00684261
Geni.com profile ID: 6000000008789192886
Goodreads author ID: 119610
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: John_Evelyn
Grove Art Online ID: T027086
Grove Music Online ID: 09109
Hrvatska enciklopedija ID: 18699
ICCD agent ID: 87457b0a93ac81dc9ad36858d03e715d
IdRef ID: 034346155
Invaluable.com person ID: oljad69oq4
IxTheo authority ID: 133757285
JudaicaLink person (GND) ID: 118682822
KBR person ID: 14529361
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 118682822
Kindred Britain ID: I18184
LBT person ID: JoEvely1706
Libraries Australia ID: 35071879
Libris-URI: rp3555n90fxnmmc
McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia ID: E/evelyn-john
Met Constituent ID: 76654
MoEML ID: EVEL1
Museo Galileo authority ID: 189494
Museum-digital ID: 136423
NACSIS-CAT author ID: DA02804701
NE.se ID: john-evelyn
NL CR AUT ID: jn20031021005
NLA Trove people ID: 818190
NLP ID: a0000002215319
NSK (VIAF) ID: 000170622
NSK ID: 981005785613009366
NUKAT ID: n2003097340
National Historical Museums of Sweden ID: person/671F80DA-2AE7-4653-ABB3-C573C23AC504
National Library of Ireland ID: vtls000083164
National Library of Israel ID (old): 000261423
National Library of Israel J9U ID: 987007298628505171
National Library of Latvia ID: 000067453
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810702498605606
National Library of Portugal ID: 232378
National Library of Russia ID: 7717636, 7717637
National Library of Wales Authority ID: evelyn-john-1620-1706
National Portrait Gallery (London) person ID: mp01509
National Virtual Library of India ID: 176984
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 068684320
Newman Numismatics Portal ID: 526575
Notable Names Database ID: 353/000103044
Obálky knih ID: jn20031021005
Online Books Page author ID: Evelyn, John, 1620-1706
Open Library ID: OL155013A
Open Plaques subject ID: 4480
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ID: 8996
Oxford Reference overview ID: 20110803095802396
Parsifal cluster ID: 593146
Past Fellow of the Royal Society ID: NA8217
Philadelphia Museum of Art entity ID: 40791
Prabook ID: 721571
Project Gutenberg author ID: 6100
Proleksis enciklopedija ID: 20233
Québec cultural heritage directory people ID: 21088
RA Collections ID: 9312
RERO ID (legacy): A003226327
RILM ID: 11148
RKDartists ID: 26827
Royal Academy ID: john-evelyn
SBN author ID: AQ1V002172
SEARCH on line catalogue ID: 17125
SELIBR ID: 185739
SHARE Catalogue author ID: 168010
SNAC ARK ID: w6dr310p
SNARC ID: Kurt Moll
Six Degrees of Francis Bacon ID: 10004046
Spenserians person ID: 32843
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam ID: 148052-john-evelyn
Stuttgart Database of Scientific Illustrators ID: 12378
Swedish Open Cultural Heritage URI: LSH/agents/65081
The Galileo Project ID: evelyn
The Literary Encyclopedia person ID: 1461
The Peerage person ID: p18467.htm#i184666
Treccani ID: john-evelyn
Treccani's Enciclopedia Italiana ID: john-evelyn
UK National Archives ID: F63654
Union List of Artist Names ID: 500031758
University of Barcelona authority ID: 981058608087606706
University of Barcelona authority ID (former scheme): a1392287
Vatican Library ID (former scheme): ADV10282588
Vatican Library VcBA ID: 495/77645
WeRelate person ID: John_Evelyn_(2)
WikiTree person ID: Evelyn-48
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJvmHvWDcgC4TgJwk4GPwC
YCBA agent ID: 1764

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Occupation 5

writer, gardener, art historian, horticulturist, diarist

Described by source 4

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, BEIC Digital Library

Has works in the collection 2

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Yale Center for British Art

Languages spoken, written or signed 2

English, Ancient Greek

Country of citizenship 1

Kingdom of England

Educated at 1

Balliol College

Given name 1

John

Instance of 1

human

Member of 1

Royal Society

Place of birth 1

Wotton

Place of death 1

London

SNARC ID 1

Kurt Moll

Sex or gender 1

male

Student 1

Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin

Students 1

Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin

Writing language 1

English

← Significant person 1

conservation movement

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

John Evelyn was born on October 31, 1620^[1], in Wotton^[2]. He died on February 27, 1706^[3], in London^[4]. He worked as a horticulturist^[5], gardener^[6], diarist^[7], writer^[8], and art historian^[9].

FAQs

Where was John Evelyn born?

John Evelyn was born in Wotton^[2].

Where did John Evelyn die?

John Evelyn died in London^[4].

Who were John Evelyn's parents?

John Evelyn's father was Richard Evelyn^[12]. John Evelyn's mother was Eleanor Stansfield^[13].

Who was John Evelyn married to?

John Evelyn's spouses include Mary Evelyn^[14].

What did John Evelyn do for work?

John Evelyn worked as a horticulturist^[5], gardener^[6], diarist^[7], writer^[8], and art historian^[9].

Where did John Evelyn go to school?

John Evelyn was educated at Balliol College^[26] and Lewes Old Grammar School^[27].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ John Evelyn — place of birth (P19): Wotton. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ John Evelyn — place of death (P20): London. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ John Evelyn — sex or gender (P21): male. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ John Evelyn — father (P22): Richard Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ John Evelyn — mother (P25): Eleanor Stansfield. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ John Evelyn — spouse (P26): Mary Evelyn. Kindred Britain. Retrieved 2020-08-07. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ John Evelyn — country of citizenship (P27): Kingdom of England. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): Mary Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): Susanna Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): Richard Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): John S. Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): John Evelyn le Jeune. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): George Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ John Evelyn — child (P40): Elizabeth Evelyn. The Peerage. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ John Evelyn — educated at (P69): Balliol College. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ John Evelyn — educated at (P69): Lewes Old Grammar School. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): horticulturist. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): gardener. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): diarist. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): writer. Library of the World's Best Literature. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): art historian. Dictionary of Art Historians. Retrieved 2022-04-23. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): garden designer. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): architect. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ John Evelyn — occupation (P106): landscape architect. RKDartists. Retrieved 2026-07-01. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ John Evelyn — member of (P463): Royal Society. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ John Evelyn — date of birth (P569): October 31, 1620. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2014-04-27. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ John Evelyn — date of birth (P569): 1620. Library of the World's Best Literature. Retrieved 2026-10-17. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ John Evelyn — date of death (P570): February 27, 1706. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2014-04-27. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ John Evelyn — date of death (P570): 1706. Library of the World's Best Literature. Retrieved 2026-10-17. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ John Evelyn — family name (P734): Evelyn. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ John Evelyn — given name (P735): John. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ John Evelyn — student (P802): Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ John Evelyn — depicted by (P1299): John Evelyn (1620–1706). wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): BEIC Digital Library. digitale.beic.it. digitale.beic.it. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): Men of Kent and Kentishmen. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): The Nuttall Encyclopædia. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): Library of the World's Best Literature. bartleby.com. bartleby.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ John Evelyn — described by source (P1343): Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ John Evelyn — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): English. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[42] ↑ John Evelyn — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): Ancient Greek. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[43] ↑ John Evelyn — name in native language (P1559): John Evelyn. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). John Evelyn. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-evelyn

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BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_john-evelyn_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{John Evelyn}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-evelyn}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}}

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Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-evelyn · Last refreshed: November 4, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

2d ago · Bug002 · 2026-11-03 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14977 → RETE030287

Claims rich → —

"/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/63645|batch #63645]]: RETEtoWD QS 03-11-2026 13:20"
9d ago · Gamaliel · 2026-10-27 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Claims rich → —

"/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1|1 */ Occupation: art historian, DOAH ID ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/OR/8894c38afa9|details]])"
19d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'bg', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'cy', 'de', 'el', 'en', 'eo', 'es', 'fi', 'f

Claims rich → —

"/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||2 */ source for date of birth, source for date of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permissions/Bot/OKA bot 2|OKA bot t"
15w ago · Pierrotrgr · 2026-07-23 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Biblissima authority ID → Labour Party

"/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Biblissima authority ID: Q9630, Import ID Biblissima V3 ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/OR/31afc9a6fd8|details]])"
17w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14608 → 118682822

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14608: 118682822, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1783130387391"
18w ago · Hannolans · 2026-07-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → horticulturist, gardener, diarist +5

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Occupation: landscape architect, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782932224781"
18w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14536 → 404207

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 404207, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782462304762"
24w ago · Quesotiotyo · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14397 → 1557

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14397: 1557, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/258229|batch #258229]]"
24w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → horticulturist, gardener, diarist +5

"/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32084|batch #32084]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (26)"
25w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Depicted by → John Evelyn (1620–1706)

Sibling → Elizabeth Evelyn, George Evelyn, Jane Evelyn

Member of → Royal Society

Owner of → John Evelyn's cabinet

+ 28 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/30848|batch #30848]]: match CERL IDs on the basis of GND (5)"

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