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Back to article: THOMAS GATAKER (1574-1654)

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GATAKER, THOMAS (1574-1654), English divine, was born in London in September 1574, and educated at St John's College, Cambridge. From 16ox to 1611 he held the appointment .of preacher to the society of Lincoln's Inn, which he resigned on accepting the rectory of Rotherhithe. In 1642 he was chosen a member of the assembly of divines at Westminster, and annotated for that assembly the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations. He disapproved of the introduction of the Covenant, and declared himself in favour of episcopacy. He was one of the forty-seven London clergymen who disapproved of thetrial of Charles I. He was married four times, and died in July 1654.
His principal works, besides some volumes of sermons are—On the Nature and Use of Lots (1619), a curious treatise which led to his being accused of favouring games of chance; Dissertatio de stylo Novi Testamenti (1648) ; Cinnus, sive Adversaria miscellanea, in quibus Sacrae Scripturac primo, delude aliorurn scriptorum, locis aliquam multis lux redditur (1651), to which was afterwards sub-joined Adversaria Posthuma; and his edition of Marcus Antoninus (1652), which, according to Hallam, is the " earliest edition of any classical writer published in England with original annotations," and, for the period at which it was written, possesses remarkable merit. His collected works were published at Utrecht in 1698.