William Wollaston
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [1]
an English clergyman and author, was born at Coton Clauford, Staffordshire. March 26, 1659; became pensioner at Sidney College, Cambridge, in 1674; took deacon's orders about 1681; became assistant master of Birmingham School; was ordained priest in 1686; inherited a large estate in 1688,. and there after passed his time in literary leisure in London, where he died, October 29, 1724. He published, The Design of a Part of the Book of Ecclesiastes; or, the Unreasonableness of Men's Restless Contentions for the Present Enjoyments, Represented in an English Poem (1691): — and Religion of Nature Delineated (1722). He also left a number of works in MS. See Chalmers, Biog. Dict. s.v.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
Ethical and theological writer, born near Stafford; wrote "Religion of Nature," a rationalistic work written in an optimistic spirit (1659-1724).