author
Henry Gally
1696–1769
A thoughtful eighteenth-century English clergyman and classical scholar, he wrote on language, literature, religion, and social questions. His work ranges from sermons and moral criticism to studies of Greek pronunciation and marriage law.
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About the author
Born in Beckenham, Kent, in August 1696, he was the son of the Rev. Peter Gally, a French Protestant refugee. He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he became a scholar and later took his B.A., M.A., and D.D.
He built a career in the Church of England as lecturer at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, and held several preferments, including the rectory of Wavendon and a prebend at Gloucester. He was also known as a classical scholar, publishing a translation of The Moral Characters of Theophrastus and writing on style, accent, quantity, and the pronunciation of Greek.
His books show a lively range of interests. Alongside sermons and religious writing, he published A Critical Essay on Characteristic-Writings and Some Considerations upon Clandestine Marriages, suggesting a writer engaged not only with ancient learning but also with the moral and social debates of his own time. He died on August 7, 1769.