 He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1729 and contributed various articles to their journal, "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society".In 1746 he wrote a treatise on electricity, "An Essay to show the Cause of Electricity and why some things are Non-Electricable, in which is also considered its Influence in the Blasts on Human Bodies, in the Blights on Trees, in the Damps in Mines, and as it may affect the Sensitive Plants" (republished in 1752 with the more concise title "Treatise on the Nature and Property of Fire"), expressing the belief that lightning and electricity were the same.He is mentioned in "Tom Jones" and as a friend of William Hogarth may have been the model for the president of the College of Surgeons in "Reward of Cruelty", the final plate of his series "The Four Stages of Cruelty".