Robert Tyrwhitt (1735–1817) was an English academic, known as a Unitarian.

Life

Born in London, he was younger son of

Robert Tyrwhitt Robert Tyrwhitt may refer to: * Robert Tyrwhitt (academic) (1735–1817), English academic *Robert Tyrwhitt (courtier) Sir Robert Tyrwhitt (by 1504 – 10 May 1572), was an English courtier and politician. He was the second son of Sir Robert T ...

(1698–1742), residentiary canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, by his wife Elizabeth, eldest daughter of

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bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

Thomas Tyrwhitt Thomas Tyrwhitt (; 27 March 173015 August 1786) was an English writer, classical scholar, and critic. He was best known for his edition of The Canterbury Tales in which he modernized the language and provided extensive notes as well as a glossa ...

was his eldest brother. He entered as a

pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

on 9 March 1753, and graduated B.A. in 1757, M.A. in 1760. On 3 November 1759 he was admitted Fellow of his college. He was early influenced by the theological writings of

Samuel Clarke Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley. Clarke's altered, Nontrinitarian revision of the 1 ...

, but he went much further, renounced the doctrine of the 39 Articles, and took part with John Jebb in the movement (1771–72) for abolishing subscription to the articles at graduation. In 1777 he resigned his fellowship, and ceased to attend the college chapel, though still residing in college. On 5 January 1784, he became a member of the largely Unitarian Society for Promoting the Knowledge of the Scriptures, and contributed papers to the society's ''Commentaries and Essays''. His income was small until, on the death of his brother Thomas in 1786, he came into property. He was one of the founders of the London Unitarian Society (1791), precursor of the

British and Foreign Unitarian Association The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was the major Unitarian body in Britain from 1825. The BFUA was founded as an amalgamation of three older societies: the Unitarian Book Society for literature (1791), The Unitarian Fund for mission wo ...

which led in turn to today's

General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC or colloquially British Unitarians) is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christians, and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom and Ire ...

, but on the introduction into its preamble of the term ‘idolatrous,’ as applied to the worship of Jesus Christ, he withdrew his name and cancelled his donation. From about 1808 he was confined to his rooms by gout. He died unmarried at Jesus College on 25 April 1817. He published two sermons preached before the university, and a reprint (1787) of his two papers in ''Commentaries and Essays''.

Legacy

He left money to the University of Cambridge, used to found the Tyrwhitt Hebrew scholarships.

References

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrwhitt, Robert 1735 births 1817 deaths Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge English Unitarians