Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, famous chiefly for his comprehensive diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by hard work and his talent for administration to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty. He was one of the first to apply methodical research and careful record keeping to the business of government, and his influence was important in the early development of the British Civil Service.

The detailed private diary that he kept during 1660–1669 was published after his death and is one of the most important primary sources for this period, particularly as Pepys was witness to several key events of the period. He stopped writing due to his failing eyesight. His wife Elizabeth died the same year. Pepys himself died in 1703 without children.

Samuel Pepys in A Different Flesh
Samuel Pepys was one of the first people to suggest the possibility that sims were somehow related to human beings. In May, 1661, Pepys, after watching the behavior of his newly acquired sims, Tom and Peg, developed the transformational theory of life.

Pepys presented this theory to the Earl of Sandwich, and then to Lord Brouncker of Gresham College. Brouncker had Pepys present the theory to the Royal Society on May 28. Pepys argued forcefully and skillfully, surviving substantial scrutiny of certain members. The theory soon gained acceptance in academia. Pepys published it in a book entitled A Proposed Explication of the Survival of Certain Beasts in America and Their Disappearance Hereabouts.

In addition to the Royal Society, Pepys was also a member of the Rota Club.