Hales, John

Hales, John, 1584–1656, English clergyman and scholar, often alluded to as the Ever-Memorable. He won distinction by his lectures on Greek at Oxford, his preaching, and his writings. From 1613 to 1649 he held a fellowship at Eton College. As chaplain to Sir Dudley Carleton, he was an observer at the Synod of Dort (1618–19), an important meeting of Calvinists. Hales's tolerance in religion found expression in Schism and Schismatics, published anonymously (and without consent) in 1642. Archbishop Laud in 1639 made Hales a canon of Windsor, but he was ejected from that post in 1642 and from his Eton fellowship in 1649. His remaining years, under the Commonwealth, were spent in obscurity and poverty. In the Golden Remains of the Ever Memorable Mr. John Hales (1659), with a preface by John Pearson, are included a number of his writings.

Bibliography

See biography by J. H. Elson (1948).