Richard Walker (1679–1764) was a professor of moral philosophy at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, noted as a supporter of

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...

in his long legal battle with the fellowship of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Life

He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) in 1706,

Cambridge Master of Arts In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an u ...

(MA Cantab) in 1710,

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

(BD) in 1724, and

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

(DD) ''

per regias literas Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Math a ...

'' in 1728. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity, but in 1708 left Cambridge to serve a curacy at

Upwell __NOTOC__ Upwell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Upwell village is on the A1101 road, as is Outwell, its conjoined village at the north. The nearest towns are Wisbech to the north-west and Downham Market to the ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. In 1717 Richard Bentley, who had a difference with the junior bursar, John Myers, removed him, and recalled Walker to Cambridge to fill his place. From this time a friendship began between Walker and Bentley, and Walker helped Bentley in his struggle within the college. On 27 April 1734 Bentley was sentenced by the college Visitor, Thomas Green,

bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...

, to be deprived of the mastership of Trinity College. On the resignation of John Hacket, the vice-master, on 17 May 1734, Walker was appointed to his place, and refused to carry out the bishop's sentence. On 25 June 1735, at the instance of

John Colbatch John Colbatch (1664–11 February 1748), sometimes Colbach, was an English churchman and academic, professor of moral philosophy at Cambridge. Drawn into the long legal struggle between Richard Bentley and the fellowship of Trinity College, Cambr ...

, a senior fellow, the

court of king's bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...

granted a

mandamus (; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...

addressed to Walker, requiring him to execute the sentence or to show cause for not doing so. Walker, in reply, questioned the title of the bishop to the office of general visitor, and the affair dragged on until 1736, when Green's death put an end to the attempts of Bentley's opponents. Walker was the companion of Bentley's old age, and was introduced by

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

into the ''

Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess Dulness and the progress of her chosen agents as they bring ...

with his patron. In 1744 Walker was appointed professor of moral philosophy at Cambridge, and in 1745 he was nominated rector of Thorpland in Norfolk, a living which he exchanged in 1757 for that of Upwell. He was devoted to horticulture, and had a small garden within the precincts of Trinity College which was famous for exotic plants, including the pineapple, banana, coffee shrub,

logwood tree ''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is na ...

, and torch thistle, which, with the aid of a hothouse, he was able to raise. On 16 July 1760 he purchased land from Richard Whish, a vintner, and on 25 Aug. 1762 conveyed the principal part to the university in trust for the establishment of the

Cambridge University Botanic Garden The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies between Trumpington Road to the west, Bateman Street to ...

which occupied the site until its move one mile south in 1846. In 1763 he published anonymously ''A Short Account of the late Donation of a Botanic Garden to the University of Cambridge''. He died at Cambridge, unmarried, on 15 December 1764.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Richard 1679 births 1764 deaths Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge 18th-century English Anglican priests English gardeners People from Upwell Knightbridge Professors of Philosophy