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Humphrey Gower was born in Herefordshire and graduated from St John's in 1659. He then proceeded MA, BD, DD, and was elected to the Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity. Over the course of his career he was also rector of a number of parishes in counties as far apart as Dorset and Norfolk, as well as prebendary of Ely. Peter Gunning made him Master of Jesus College in 1679, and later that year he became Master of St John's. During his Vice-Chancellorship Gower received Charles II at Newmarket, and later that year in St John's itself. When William III came to power he was indicted for not having ejected non-juring fellows, but the charges against him were rejected. As well as making important benefactions to the Library, Gower ensured the upkeep of the material of the College, arranging the building of a new bridge over the Cam.

Chamberlain to Lady Margaret Beaufort after 1504 and an executor of her will.

Heitland was born in 1847 in Colkirk, Norfolk, and was educated at Dedham Grammar School and Shrewsbury School. Being the son of an unsuccessful gentleman farmer he had to rely on a scholarship to enter St John's College. Heitland graduated BA as Senior Classic in 1871 and was immediately elected a Fellow of the College. He was College Lecturer in classics 1871-85 and Tutor 1883-93. Heitland was a prolific author, mostly of classical works. His most distinguished publications were 'Agricola' (1921), on agricultural labour in antiquity, and the 'History of the Roman Republic' (1909), which in its day was compared to Mommsen's great work. In 1901 Heitland married the daughter of the Master of St John's, Henry Bateson. Margaret Bateson was a journalist and stalwart of the suffragette movement. Heitland died in 1935.

Obituary in The Eagle: Vol 49, Mich 1935, p119

Illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and Joan Hill. He spent his childhood in exile and came to England with Henry Tudor in 1485, who knighted him on 7 August 1485. He stopped using the surname Beaufort and took that of Somerset instead. He married Henry VII's ward, Elizabeth Herbert, the sole heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, in 1492. Through his wife he acquired substantial lands in Wales. He administered the marcher lordship of Glamorgan for the Crown and was awarded more lands and titles, making him the most powerful man in south Wales. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1496. In 1501 he was made Vice-Chamberlain of Henry VII's household. In 1504 he was created Baron Herbert. In 1509 Henry VIII made him Lord Chamberlain, head of the royal household. Both monarchs employed him on international military and diplomatic missions. He was created Earl of Worcester in 1514 and in the period 1518-1520 conducted negotiations with France, culminating in the Field of the Cloth of Gold, for the organisation of which he was mostly responsible. He died on 25 April 1526 and was buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Son of Ralph Lovell of Beachamwell, Norfolk. Studied Law at Lincoln's Inn and practised in Norfolk. Joined revolt against Richard III in 1483. In 1485 he served as Speaker of the House of Commons in Henry VII's first Parliament, and in the same year was made Treasurer of the King's Chamber and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was a leading councillor of both Henry VII and Henry VIII. He fought for Henry VII and the Battle of Stoke Field (1487), in France (1492), and in putting down the Cornish Rebellion (1497). In Henry VIII's wars of 1511-1514 he supervised the procurement of artillery and the fortification of Calais. Other offices held included: Treasurer of the King's Household (1503); Lieutenant of the Tower of London (1513), and Steward of the Universities of Oxford (1507) and Cambridge (1509).

Son of Sir John Marney of Layer Marney, Essex, and Jane Throckmorton. Served as Privy Councillor for Henry VII in 1485-1487 and for Henry VIII in 1509. Fought for Henry VII at the Battle of Stoke Field, 1487, and in putting down the Cornish Rebellion in 1497. Fought for Henry VIII in France in 1513. He held positions of power in Essex, including J.P. and M.P., and by Henry VIII was given offices including Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1509), Vice-Chamberlain and Captain of the King's Guard, constable of Castle Rising, steward of the Duchy of Cornwall, and Lord Privy Seal (1523).

As an undergraduate (1911-1914), Dennis Ivor Day was a successful rower, partnering his brother to win races such as the Lowe Double Sculls. He was part of the team which won the Oxford - Cambridge Boat Race in 1914. He died in 1915, of wounds sustained fighting in the First World War.

George Lewis Day obtained his B.A. from St John's in 1913. As an undergraduate he was a successful rower, partnering his brother (D. I. Day) to win the Lowe Double Sculls in 1912, the Forster-Fairbairn Pairs in 1913, and the Magdalene Pairs in 1914. He became a solicitor and town clerk of St Ives, Huntingdonshire.

Eldest son of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester by his first wife, Catherine Spencer, daughter of Sir William Spencer of Yarnton, Oxfordshire. Educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. MP for Huntingdonshire, 1623-1626. Accompanied Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles I) to Spain in 1623 on his mission to marry the Infanta of Spain. In May 1626 he received the barony of Kimbolton and in the same year was styled Viscount Mandeville when his father was created Earl of Manchester. He inherited his father's title in 1642. A commander of Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War, in August 1643 he was made Major-General of forces in the eastern counties and in July 1644 was in general control as field officer at the Battle of Marston Moor. However, possibly a result of the carnage he witnessed at that battle, from November 1644 he opposed continuing the War and in April 1645 resigned his command. He took part in negotiations with Charles I and opposed his trial. He was made Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in March 1649 but was dismissed in 1651 for refusing to take the vow of loyalty to the Commonwealth. Having retired from public life during the Commonwealth, he facilitated the Restoration of the Monarchy; as Speaker of the House of Lords he welcomed the King in 1660. He received many honours from the monarch, including being reinstated as Chancellor of Cambridge and being made lord chamberlain of the King's household. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1661 and a General, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society, in 1667. He was married five times and had four children.

Sir Christopher Wren was born on 20th October 1623 in East Knoyle, Wiltshire. He was educated at home by both his father and a private tutor. The details of his schooling are not well-known, but he learned both to draw and to read Latin. Wren then entered Wadham College, Oxford, in June of 1650. He graduated BA the following year, and MA in 1653. In the same year, he was elected to a fellowship at All Souls College, but also spent much time in London. Wren continued to pursue his interests in invention and scientific research. In 1657, he was appointed to the chair of astronomy at Gresham College in the City of London. His inaugural lecture at the College survives in both Latin and English. In 1664, he was incorporated MA at Cambridge.

Wren is probably most famous for his contributions to the field of architecture. After the Reformation, his association with the Royal Society brought him to the attention of King Charles II, and he came to give unofficial advice on the restoration of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1661. Wren had mastered the art of architecture by the early 1660’s. His study of architecture led him to travel to France between 1665 and 1666, incidentally avoiding most of the Great Plague of London. Wren’s architectural projects included the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, a series of chapel screens in various Colleges, and the new chapel and cloister range at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. However, he is most famous for rebuilding St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London. He helped guide the regulations for building in London which followed the city’s recovery from the fire.

Wren married twice, both times briefly, and had two children with each of his wives. He died on the 25th February 1723, and was buried in the crypt at St Paul’s.

Hawksmoor was an English architect whose importance lies in his representation of the English Baroque style. He was probably born in early 1662. It is not known where he received his schooling but it has been suggested it could have been at the grammar school in Dunham, Nottinghamshire. At 18 he left home to work as a clerk for architect Sir Christopher Wren. His first official post was as Deputy Surveyor to Wren at Winchester Palace from 1683 until 1685. Hawksmoor worked with Wren on all his major architectural projects, including Chelsea Hospital (1681 -1692), St. Paul's Cathedral (completed 1710), Hampton Court Palace (1689-1700), and Greenwich Hospital (1699-1702). By 1688 he was designing buildings, and by about 1690 executing them, both under Wren's continued direction and on independent commissions. In 1689 he was named Clerk of the Works at Kensington Palace, and in 1705 Deputy Surveyor of Works at Greenwich. On Wren’s death (1723), Hawksmoor became surveyor general of Westminster Abbey, the west towers of which were built (1734–45) to his design. Hawksmoor also worked with architect Sir John Vanbrugh. He was involved in the building of Blenheim Palace (1705–25) in Oxfordshire for John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and Castle Howard (1699–1726) in Yorkshire for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle. John Vanbrugh made Hawksmoor his deputy as Comptroller of the Works in 1721. Hawksmoor also took on commissions on his own and it is mainly for these that he is most well-known. In 1702, he designed the baroque country house of Easton Neston (1695-1710) in Northamptonshire for Sir William Fermor. In 1713 he was commissioned to complete King's College, Cambridge but Hawksmoor's scheme was never executed. He conceived grand rebuilding schemes for central Oxford, most of which were not realised. However, he designed and completed the Clarendon Building at Oxford (1711-1715); the Codrington Library and new buildings at All Souls College, Oxford (1716-34); parts of Worcester College, Oxford with Sir George Clarke in 1720 and the High Street entrance gate at The Queen's College, Oxford (1733-36). In 1711 Hawksmoor was appointed one of two surveyors to a commission to build 50 new churches in the Cities of London and Westminster and their immediate environs. In this capacity he designed and completed the six churches for which he is most well known: St. Anne’s (1714–24; consecrated in 1730) in Limehouse, St. George-in-the-East (1714–29) in Wapping Stepney, Christ Church (1714–29) in Spitalfields; St. Mary Woolnoth (1716–24) in the City of London; St. Alphege’s (1712-1718) in Greenwich and St. George’s (1716-1731) in Bloomsbury. Hawksmoor died on 25 March 1736 in his house at Millbank, London.

Charles II was born on the 29th of May 1630, at St James’s Palace. He was the second son of Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but the first to survive. When the English Civil War broke out in 1642, Charles spent most of the conflict with his father until he was sent to the west country to lead the royalist forces. When King Charles surrendered to the Scots, the prince went to his mother in France. His father was executed in January of 1649, and Charles ascended to the throne of Scotland, where he reigned until 1651. He was then exiled again to France.

With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles returned to England and to the throne. He married Catherine of Braganza, the Portugeuse infanta. The couple had no children, but Charles himself had many children by various mistresses. With no legitimate heir, when Charles died on the 6th February 1685, he was succeeded to the throne by his brother, James II.

King of Britain and Ireland whose authoritarian rule and quarrels with Parliament provoked a civil war that led to his execution.
Charles I was born in Dunfermline Castle, Scotland, on 19 November 1600. He was the third child of James VI of Scotland (subsequently James I of England; 1566–1625) and his Danish wife, Anne (1574–1619), having been preceded by Henry (1594–1612) and Elizabeth (1596–1662). He was created duke of Albany at his baptism and duke of York in 1605. In Scotland he was placed in the care of Lord and Lady Fyvie, who brought him up until the age of four; he then moved to England and the household of Sir Robert and Lady Carey. Thomas Murray, a Scottish presbyterian who later became provost of Eton, oversaw his education. After his brother Henry's death in 1612 he became the sole male heir to the kingdoms of Britain and Ireland.
From the age of twelve Charles was brought up to be a king and he was gradually instructed in every aspect of rule by his father. On 3 November 1616 he was created prince of Wales. He was made a member of the privy council and sat on the naval commission.
In 1623, before succeeding to the throne, Charles made an incognito visit to Spain in order to conclude a marriage treaty with the daughter of King Philip III. When the mission failed, he pressed his father for war against Spain. In the meantime a marriage treaty was arranged with Henrietta Maria, sister of the French king, Louis XIII.
In March 1625, Charles I became king and married Henrietta Maria soon afterward. The Spanish war was proving a failure and Charles offered Parliament no explanations of his foreign policy or its costs. Problems soon arose between the new king and the Commons, and Parliament refused to vote him the right to levy tonnage and poundage (customs duties) though this right had been granted to previous monarchs for life.
The country then became involved in a war with France as well as with Spain and, in desperate need of funds, the king imposed a forced loan, which his judges declared illegal. He then dismissed the chief justice and ordered the arrest of more than 70 knights and gentlemen who refused to contribute.
By the time Charles’s third Parliament met (March 1628), the king’s government was thoroughly discredited. The House of Commons set out its complaints in the Petition of Right. By the time the fourth Parliament met in January 1629, the king’s chief advisor Lord Buckingham had been assassinated. During that parliament the speaker was held down in his chair and three resolutions were passed condemning the king’s conduct. Charles realized that such behaviour was revolutionary. For the next 11 years he ruled his kingdom without calling a Parliament.
In order that he might no longer be dependent upon parliamentary grants, he now made peace with both France and Spain. But in 1639 Charles became involved in a war against the Scots.
Charles summoned a Parliament that met in April 1640—later known as the Short Parliament—in order to raise money for the war against Scotland. The House insisted first on discussing grievances against the government and showed itself opposed to a renewal of the war; so, on May 5, the king dissolved Parliament again. A Scottish army crossed the border in August and the king’s troops panicked before a cannonade at Newburn. Charles summoned another Parliament, the Long Parliament, which met at Westminster in November 1640.
Charles was then forced to agree to a measure whereby the existing Parliament could not be dissolved without its own consent. On November 22, 1641, the Commons passed by 159 to 148 votes the Grand Remonstrance to the king, setting out all that had gone wrong since his accession.
In April the king settled in York, where he ordered the courts of justice to assemble and where royalist members of both houses gradually joined him. In June the majority of the members remaining in London sent the king the Nineteen Propositions, which included demands that no ministers should be appointed without parliamentary approval, that the army should be put under parliamentary control, and that Parliament should decide about the future of the church.
But in July both sides were urgently making ready for war. The king formally raised the royal standard at Nottingham on August 22 and sporadic fighting soon broke out all over the kingdom. Charles moved his court and military headquarters to Christ Church College, Oxford. On June 14 1645 the highly disciplined New Model Army organised and commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax with Oliver Cromwell as his second in command, defeated the king at the Battle of Naseby. By the spring of 1646 Oxford was surrounded. Charles left the city in disguise. In June, however, he was seized and taken to the army headquarters at Newmarket and then to Hampton Court. He escaped on November 11, but his friends’ plans to take him to Jersey and thence to France went astray and instead Charles found himself in the Isle of Wight, where the governor was loyal to Parliament and kept him under surveillance at Carisbrooke Castle.
In August 1648 the last of Charles’s Scottish supporters were defeated at the Battle of Preston and the second Civil War ended. The army now began to demand that the king should be put on trial for treason. On January 20, 1649, he was brought before a specially constituted high court of justice in Westminster Hall.
Charles I was charged with high treason and “other high crimes against the realm of England.” He at once refused to recognise the legality of the court because “a king cannot be tried by any superior jurisdiction on earth.” He therefore refused to plead but maintained that he stood for “the liberty of the people of England.” The sentence of death was read on January 27; his execution was ordered as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy. The sentence was carried out in Whitehall on the morning of January 30, 1649. A week later he was buried at Windsor. Charles had nine children, two of whom eventually succeeded as king (Charles II and James II), and two of whom died at or shortly after birth.

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, was born in Westminster to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and his wife Lady Mildred, on the 1st of June 1563. Due to a sickly childhood, Cecil was educated at home by his notably-learned mother, and also tutors; one of these tutors was almost certainly Richard Howland, who would go on to become bishop of Peterborough and Master of St John’s College. The family’s mansion was often used to entertain the royal court, so Cecil was likely acquainted with Queen Elizabeth I from his childhood.

In 1580, Cecil was admitted to Gray’s Inn. The following year he was also at Cambridge, but never obtained a degree. He was tutored at home by William Wilkinson, a fellow of St John’s, before travelling to Paris. He spent the next several years travelling and sitting in the House of Commons. He was knighted in 1591, and subsequently elevated to the privy council. In the same year, he also became the high steward of Cambridge University. At the time, his father was the acting secretary of state, and Cecil often assisted him with his work. In 1596, he was finally granted the title of secretary of state for himself, after seemingly being poised to take the role for several years.

Cecil competed with Elizabeth I’s favourite, the Earl of Essex, for various positions both before and after the death of his influential father. In May 1599 Cecil became master of the wards, a position which Essex had hoped for and which had previously been held by Burghley. The pair also clashed over their opinions on foreign policy; Essex sought escalation of warfare, while Cecil desired peace. Cecil went on to collect evidence against Essex after his 1601 revolt, and spoke at the trial which led to his execution.

After Essex’s death, Cecil was widely recognised as the most powerful privy councillor. Because of this, he was able to undertake a secret-- and technically treasonous-- correspondance with James VI of Scotland to assure him of his future ascension to the English throne. As Elizabeth’s health failed, Cecil drafted the proclamation of the new king’s ascension. His friendliness with James I ensured that Cecil held his privy council position in the court of the new king. He was also appointed lord high steward to the king’s wife. Cecil’s power increased under James I, owing in part to the king’s frequent absences from court. Cecil led the commission to investigate the Guy Fawkes plot. His position under James was cemented on the 4th of May, 1605, when Cecil was elevated to the earldom of Salisbury. In 1608, he also became the lord treasurer.

Cecil married Elizabeth Brooke, a servant of Elizabeth I, in August 1589. She was a favourite of the queen, and her influence likely contributed greatly to Cecil’s early career. They had a son, William, in 1591, and a daughter, Frances, in 1593. However, a third pregnancy sadly led to a miscarriage and Lady Cecil’s death in January of 1597. She was buried at Westminster Abbey on the insistence of the Queen, and Cecil never remarried. He died on the 24th of May, 1612.

Robert Devereux was an English soldier and courtier famous for his charm and his position as royal favourite in the court of Elizabeth I. He was born on 10th November 1565 to Walter Devereux, first Earl of Essex, and Lettice Knollys. He inherited the title of Earl of Essex after his father died when he was nine. His earliest known teacher was Thomas Ashton, headmaster of Shrewsbury School, fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, and a trusted family servant. Ashton was succeeded as Devereux's 'scolemaster' by Robert Wright, who was a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Robert Devereux himself was admitted as a fellow-commoner at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1577 and in 1581 he graduated as a Master of Arts. In 1578 Essex's mother married Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, favourite of Elizabeth I. Young Essex first attained military prominence by fighting bravely under his stepfather as a Governor-General against the Spanish in the Netherlands in 1586. Shortly before his death in 1588, the Earl of Leicester introduced Devereux to the Elizabethan court. Elizabeth gave him the position of Master of the Horse and he became a favourite of the queen, becoming a privy councillor in 1593. He took part in the English operation against Lisbon in 1589 and secretly married Frances Walsingham, widow of the poet Sir Philip Sidney, in 1590. They went on to have three children (Robert, Dorothy and Frances) who survived into adulthood. In 1591-2 he commanded an English force sent to assist the Protestant Henry of Navarre in France. Essex became a national hero in 1596 when he shared command of the expedition that captured Cadiz from the Spanish. The following year, he failed in an expedition to intercept the Spanish treasure fleet off the Azores. Thanks to various contacts at Cambridge, such as William Whitaker, Essex had a very high reputation at the universities and was a regular recruiter of promising students and dons. In 1598 he was chosen to replace Lord Burghley as chancellor of Cambridge University. In 1599, at his own request, Essex was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and sent to put down a rebellion by the earl of Tyrone. After an unsuccessful campaign Essex concluded an unauthorised truce with Tyrone and then returned to England to try and explain his conduct to the queen. She deprived him of his offices and placed him under house arrest in 1600. Politically and financially ruined, Essex attempted, with 200-300 followers, to raise the people of London in revolt against the government in 1601. The poorly planned attempt failed, and Essex surrendered. He was executed at the Tower of London on 25th February 1601 after being found guilty of treason.

John Drayton Wyatt was an architect who was born in 1820. He began working for Sir George Gilbert Scott, who designed the chapel at St John’s College, in 1841 as an assistant draughtsman. During his career, he contributed drawings to the Civil Engineer and Architects Journal, worked on the restoration of Sudeley Castle, and eventually became the diocesan architect for Bath and Wells. He died in 1891.

Percival Edmund Gatty, usually known as Edmund Percival Gatty, was born on the 22nd June 1886 to Frederick Albert Gatty, a manufacturing chemist. He was educated at Orley Farm, before going on to Chichester Theological College. He recieved his B.A. in 1889, and was ordained priest in 1892. He held curacies in Brighton, Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and Leicestershire. In 1900 he became the vicar of Offley, Hertfordshire, and remained there until his retirement in 1925.

Gatty was an avid water-colour painter, and published the book A History of Offley and its Church in 1907. During the First World War, he was an ambulance driver with the French Army.

Gatty married Alice Mabel Wellwood Ker in 1899. They had one daughter, and one son: Hugh Percival Wharton Gatty, who went on to become a Fellow and Librarian of St John’s College. He died on the 30th December 1937.