John Platts

Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1775, he first served for several years as a Calvinist minister before becoming a Unitarian. He later worked as a Unitarian minister in Boston and then moved to Doncaster, building a reputation as a practical, wide-ranging compiler as well as a religious writer.

His books were designed to inform and entertain ordinary readers. Among the works associated with him are large reference projects such as A Universal Biography and other compilations on world customs, wonders, and general knowledge, showing a talent for organizing huge amounts of material into accessible form.

He died in 1837. Although not widely known today, his career gives a vivid glimpse of an age when one determined writer could try to map the whole world of knowledge for curious readers.