The most influential Irish born scientist to ever live was Robert Boyle. His contribution to science was vital because of his part in establishing the experimental method, on which all modern science is based (Int. #2, paragraph # 1).
             Boyle was born in Lismore Castle in Lismore, Ireland in 1627. He was the youngest of fourteen children. As a child he preferred to study and learn more than do normal boy things. His father was the first Earl of Cork. Robert attended Eton College in England at the age of eight (Encyclopedia #1 paragraph #3).
             In 1641, when he was only eleven, Boyle went on a tour of Europe. He got a broad education in Europe. When he returned his father tried to get him to marry and move but he chose not to in order to devote himself to his studies (Int. #2, paragraph # 4). He then joined a group of fellow scientists called the Invisible College. This group was devoted to trying to find new experimental ideas and to prove or disprove hypotheses through very careful and numerous experiments. Robert moved to Oxford because it was the meeting place of the Invisible College. In 1663 King Charles II granted a charter that allowed the College to become the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, and Boyle was a member of its first council (Encyclopedia #1 paragraph #5-7).
             Boyle did most of his research and experiments while he lived in Oxford. His research was centered around the behavior of gases. He established Boyles law through careful experiment and research. This law states that the volume of a given amount of gas varies inversely with its pressure, if temperature is constant (V x p = constant) (Encyclopedia #1 paragraph #4). He also developed an air pump which allowed him to investigate the natural properties of a vacuum. With this he demonstrated that sound could not be heard in a vacuum and that fire was extinguished. He also started work on the discovery of oxygen. He is also
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