Thomas Sprat (1635 – May 20, 1713), English divine, was born at Beaminster, Dorset, and educated at Wadham College, Oxford, where he held a fellowship from 1657 to 1670. Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ... 20 May is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... // Events April 11 - War of the Spanish Succession: Treaty of Utrecht June 23 - French residents of Acadia given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia Canada first Orrery built by George Graham Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Beaminster parish church Beaminster is a town in Dorset, on the A3066 between Bridport and Crewkerne. ... Dorset (pronounced Dorsit, sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the southwest of England, on the English Channel coast. ... Wadham College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...

Having taken orders he became a prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral in 1660. In the preceding year he had gained a reputation by his poem To the Happie Memory of the most Renowned Prince Oliver, Lord Protector (London, 1659), and he was afterwards well known as a wit, preacher and man of letters. Holy Orders in the modern Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic Churches, includes three degrees: bishop, priest, and deacon. ... A prebendary is a post connected to a cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. ... Norman West front Plan East elevation. ... Events Expulsion of the Carib indigenous people from Martinique by French occupying forces. ...

Frontispiece to A History of the Royal Society, showing the crowning of Francis Bacon by the natural philosophers.

His chief prose works are the Observations upon Monsieur de Sorbier's Voyage into England (London, 1665), a satirical reply to the strictures on Englishmen in Samuel de Sorbière's book of that name, and a History of the Royal Society of London (London, 1667), which Sprat had helped to found. The History of the Royal Society elaborates the scientific purposes of the academy and outlines some of the strictures of scientific writing that set the modern standards for clarity and conciseness. Image File history File links Sprat. ... Image File history File links Sprat. ... Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English astrologer, philosopher, statesman, spy, freemason and essayist. ...

In 1669 he became canon of Westminster Abbey, and in 1670 rector of Uffington, Lincolnshire. He was chaplain to Charles II in 1676, curate and lecturer at St. Margaret's, Westminster, in 1679, canon of Windsor in 1681, dean of Westminster in 1683 and bishop of Rochester in 1684. // Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ... A canon (from the Latin canonicus and Greek κανωνικωσ relating to a rule) is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to a rule (canon). ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings. ... Uffington is a quiet, sleepy hamlet that is almost a suburb of Stamford, Lincolnshire. ... Charles II or The Merry Monarch (29 May 1630–6 February 1685) was the King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 30 January 1649 (retrospectively de jure) or 29 May 1660 (de facto) until his death. ... Events January 29 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia First measurement of the speed of light, by Ole Rømer Bacons Rebellion Russo-Turkish Wars commence. ... From the Latin curatus (compare Curator), a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure (cura), of souls of a parish. ... The Anglican church of St. ... Windsor (IPA: usually , but also ) is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, South East England. ... For other uses, see Bishop (disambiguation). ... Rochester is a small town in Kent, at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London. ...

He was a member of James II's ecclesiastical commission, and in 1688 he read the Declaration of Indulgence to empty benches in Westminster Abbey. The suggestion was that he was playing at being Vicar of Bray. Although he opposed the motion of 1689 declaring the throne vacant, he assisted at the coronation of William and Mary. As dean of Westminster he directed Christopher Wren's restoration of the abbey. James II of England and VII of Scotland ( 14 October 1633–16 September 1701 ) became King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. ... // Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the Immortal Seven, invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. ... The character of The Vicar of Bray appears in a traditional English folk song with that title. ... William III of England (14 November 1650 – 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and King of Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scots... Mary II (30 April 1662–28 December 1694) reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689 until her death, and as Queen of Scotland (as Mary II of Scotland) from 11 April 1689 until her death. ... Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller, 1711. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain.