Barlow, John, 1799-1869. Reverend. Secretary of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (1843-1860).

John Barlow was born the son of a parson in 1799. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge and took holy orders soon after. In 1822 he became curate of the Parish of Uckfield, Sussex; from 1830 to 1842 he was rector of Little Bowden, Northamptonshire. In 1824 he married Cecilia Anne Lam (c 1796-1868). He became a member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (RI) in 1832 and a manager in 1838. In 1834 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. From 1837 to 1838 he was Secretary of the Zoological Society. In 1841 he succeeded Michael Faraday (1791-1867) as Secretary of the Lectures Committee at the RI. In 1843 he was elected Honorary Secretary of the RI, a position he held until 1860. In this role he made many far reaching administrative changes in the running of the RI. He gave lectures at the RI on the practical application of science. He published some of his research in The Discovery of the Vital Principle or Physiology of Man in 1838; he also published On Man's Power Over Himself to Prevent or Control Insanity, which highlighted the importance of moral management of the insane rather than the use of intimidation. In 1851 he became Minister of the Duke Street Chapel, London and from 1854 to 1859, he was Chaplain-in-Ordinary at Kensington Palace. He died in 1869.