John Colet

John Colet (c. 1467-1519), English theologian, born in London, and educated at the University of Oxford. After travelling in France and Italy, where he was influenced by the French scholar Guillaume Budé and by the Dutch scholar and humanist Desiderius Erasmus, he returned to England in 1496 and became a priest. Colet's lectures on the Epistles of St Paul attracted great attention because of their originality. In 1499 Erasmus visited Oxford and was greatly influenced by Colet's opinions on the proper methods of Scripture interpretation and the value of scholastic philosophy. In 1509 Colet became dean of St Paul's Cathedral, London, and continued to deliver controversial lectures. With the large fortune he inherited when his father died, he founded St Paul's School. In 1510 Colet appointed the Mercers' Company of London managers of his school, thus establishing the first lay management of an educational institution.