Chauncy, Charles
(1592–19 February 1672)
- Mark A. Peterson
Extract
Chauncy, Charles (1592–19 February 1672), Puritan minister and president of Harvard College, was born in Yardley-Bury, Hertfordshire, England, the son of George Chauncy, a member of the lesser gentry, and Agnes Welch Humberstone. In 1605 Chauncy was sent to the Westminster School, which narrowly escaped the notorious Gunpowder Plot of that year. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1610, received the B.A. in 1614, a master’s degree in 1617, and in 1624 was awarded a second bachelor’s degree in divinity. After taking his first degree, Chauncy became a fellow of the college and eventually served as lecturer in Hebrew and Greek....
