William Cole (scholar)
Encyclopedia
William Cole was an English classical scholar.

Life

Cole was born on 8 December 1753 at Mersham
Mersham
Mersham is a small village and civil parish, three miles east of Willesborough and the town of Ashford in the county of Kent.-History:Historically Mersham has been a farming community with close ties to the local market town of Ashford. The small village dates back to Saxon times and is mentioned...

 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, and received in early life great assistance from a friend of his mother, John Chapman, archdeacon of Sudbury
Sudbury, Suffolk
Sudbury is a small, ancient market town in the county of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour, from Colchester and from London.-Early history:...

 (1704–1784). Chapman sent him first to Ashford Grammar School
The Norton Knatchbull School
The Norton Knatchbull School is a grammar school for boys located in Ashford, Kent, England. Girls are accepted into the Sixth Form. As of 2008, the school serves more than one thousand students aged 11 to 18.- History :...

 (now The Norton Knatchbull School
The Norton Knatchbull School
The Norton Knatchbull School is a grammar school for boys located in Ashford, Kent, England. Girls are accepted into the Sixth Form. As of 2008, the school serves more than one thousand students aged 11 to 18.- History :...

), and afterwards to a private seminary at Bierton
Bierton
Bierton is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, about half a mile northeast of the town of Aylesbury. It is a mainly farming parish, 10 km² in size....

, near Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...

, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

. In 1766 he was admitted at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 on the foundation, and in 1773 was made scholar of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

, and fellow in 1776, proceeding B.A. in 1778, and M.A. in 1781.

In 1777 he returned to Eton as a master, but, having ruptured a blood-vessel while an undergraduate, found himself not strong enough for the post, and resigned it in 1780 on being appointed tutor to George, Marquess of Blandford
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough FSA , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1817, was a British peer and collector of antiquities and books.-Background and education:...

, and Lord Henry Spencer
Lord Henry Spencer
Lord Henry John Spencer was a British diplomat and politician.Spencer was the second son of George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Caroline and was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford...

, the sons of the Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough
George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough KG, PC, FRS , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1758, was a British courtier and politician...

, to whom he became chaplain.

In 1781 he was inducted to the first portion of the rectory of Waddesdon
Waddesdon
Waddesdon is a village within the Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England, 6 miles from Aylesbury on the A41 road. The centre of a civil parish, including the hamlets of Eythrope, Wormstone and Woodham, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace making...

, Buckinghamshire, on the presentation of the Duke of Marlborough, but resigned it in 1788, on being collated to the rectory of Mersham, Kent, by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

. In 1792 he was installed prebendary of Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

, and in 1795 received the degree of D.D. by the archbishop's diploma at the archiepiscopal visitation at Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

. In 1796 he was presented to the vicarage of Shoreham, Kent
Shoreham, Kent
Shoreham is a village and civil parish in the valley of the River Darent six miles north of Sevenoaks in Kent: it is in the District of Sevenoaks. The parish includes the settlements of Badgers Mount and Well Hill....

, by the dean and chapter of Westminster. In 1795 he married Mary, the second daughter of Sir William Blackstone, but left no issue.

He died on 24 September 1806, and was buried in the north aisle of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

.

Works

To the Marquis of Blandford he dedicated his Oratio de Ridiculo, to which the first of Sir William Browne's medals was awarded; he printed it along with some Latin verse 1780. He was also the author of a Latin explanation prefixed to the second volume of the Marlborough Gems
Marlborough gems
The Marlborough gems were a large collection of jewels assembled by several Dukes of Marlborough. The collection was composed of more than 730 carved gemstones, including garnets, sapphires, emeralds and many cameos. The most famous cameo, and the Duke's favourite, was The Marriage of Cupid and...

privately printed under the auspices of George, duke of Marlborough, and of several sermons.
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