Thomas Sprat

Born in 1635, Thomas Sprat became an English clergyman and man of letters whose career reached into some of the most influential institutions of Restoration England. He studied at Oxford, was associated early on with writers around Abraham Cowley, and built a reputation as a polished prose writer as well as a churchman.

Sprat is especially remembered for The History of the Royal Society (1667), an important early defense of the new scientific culture taking shape in England. The book gave a clear, energetic account of the Society’s purpose and style, and it remains closely tied to his name. Alongside this, he wrote poetry, sermons, and political and religious prose.

His church career was also notable: he became Dean of Westminster and later Bishop of Rochester. In public life he was known as a Tory and a High Church figure, and his long career reflected the close overlap of religion, politics, literature, and science in late 17th-century England. He died in 1713.