Famous 18th Century Priests

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 1 
John Newton
(British Sailor and Anglican Clergyman)
John Newton
5
Birthdate: July 24, 1725
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Wapping, London
Died: December 21, 1807

John Newton was an English Anglican cleric. As a young man, he was forcefully recruited into the navy and worked on slave ships in the slave trade for several years. He later converted to Christianity, following which he denounced slavery and became an abolitionist. He was then ordained as a Church of England cleric. 

 2 
Junípero Serra
(Spanish Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary of the Franciscan Order)
Junípero Serra
6
Birthdate: November 24, 1713
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Petra, Spain
Died: August 28, 1784

Junípero Serra was a Roman Catholic priest who is credited with founding the Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda. He is also credited with founding nine of the 21 Spanish missions in California. On 25 September 1988, Junípero Serra was beatified in the Vatican City by Pope John Paul II. On 23 September 2015, he was canonized by Pope Francis.

 3 
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
(Politician)
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
4
Birthdate: February 2, 1754
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: May 17, 1838

French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.

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 4 
Richard Allen
(American Clergyman Who was the First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church)
Richard Allen
4
Birthdate: February 14, 1760
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: March 26, 1831

Born to slave parents, American clergyman Richard Allen became a Methodist convert at 22. He later founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church and served as its first bishop. Apart from establishing the first church for Blacks in the U.S., he worked on various aspects to improve the lives of Blacks.

 5 
Charles-Michel de l'Épée
(Educator)
Charles-Michel de l'Épée
4
Birthdate: November 24, 1712
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Versailles, Yvelines, France
Died: December 23, 1789

Eighteenth-century philanthropic educator Charles-Michel de l'Épée is regarded as the Father of the Deaf for pioneering the education of the deaf and dumb. He laid down the Signed French system, which enabled the deaf to participate in legal proceedings. His French Sign Language laid the path to the American Sign Language.

 6 
Increase Mather
(British Clergyman)
Increase Mather
4
Birthdate: June 21, 1639
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Massachusetts Bay Colony, United States
Died: August 23, 1723

Puritan clergyman Increase Mather was educated at Harvard and Trinity and preached his first sermon the day he turned 18. The son of Puritan minister Richard Mather, he penned An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences, which is said to have influenced the Salem witch trials.

 7 
Anne Catherine Emmerich
(German Catholic Nun Remembered for Her Mystical Visions)
Anne Catherine Emmerich
4
Birthdate: September 8, 1774
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Coesfeld, Germany
Died: February 9, 1824

German Roman Catholic nun Anne Catherine Emmerich was born on a farm and initially failed to join any religious community due to her poor financial conditions. She later received the stigmata and experienced visions of the Virgin Mary and Passion of Jesus. Her visions apparently inspired the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ.

 8 
Gerard Majella
(Italian Saint)
Gerard Majella
4
Birthdate: April 9, 1726
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Muro Lucano, Italy
Died: October 16, 1755

Gerard Majella was an Italian lay brother who is honored by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint. His intercession is sought for unborn children, children, mothers, women in childbirth, expectant mothers, and motherhood. Many churches in New Zealand, England, and Sri Lanka are dedicated to him.

 9 
Lazzaro Spallanzani
(Italian Physiologist and Biologist Who Made Significant Contributions to the Study of Animal Reproduction and Bodily Functions)
Lazzaro Spallanzani
4
Birthdate: January 12, 1729
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Scandiano, Italy
Died: February 11, 1799

Lazzaro Spallanzani was an Italian physiologist, biologist, and Catholic priest. He is best remembered for making significant contributions to the study of animal reproduction, bodily functions, and animal echolocation. Lazzaro Spallanzani's research on biogenesis was the first step towards debunking the theory of spontaneous generation.

 10 
Samuel Seabury
(2nd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church)
Samuel Seabury
3
Birthdate: November 30, 1729
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Ledyard, Connecticut, United States
Died: February 25, 1796

Samuel Seabury was an Episcopal bishop who became the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. A leading Loyalist in New York City during the American Revolution, he was known for his rivalry with Alexander Hamilton. After the revolution, he played a key role in the evolution of Anglican liturgy. 

 11 
François Fénelon
(Catholic Archbishop and the Author of 'The Adventures of Telemachus')
François Fénelon
3
Birthdate: August 6, 1651
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Sainte-Mondane, France
Died: January 7, 1715

François Fénelon was a French writer, poet, theologian, and Catholic archbishop. He is best remembered for his book The Adventures of Telemachus, which was published in 1699. François Fénelon also served as a tutor of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, guiding the character formation of Louis, Grand Dauphin's eldest son.

 12 
Jean Meslier
(Priest)
Jean Meslier
3
Birthdate: June 15, 1664
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Mazerny, France
Died: June 17, 1729
 13 
Louis de Montfort
(French Roman Catholic Priest and Confessor)
Louis de Montfort
4
Birthdate: January 31, 1673
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Montfort-sur-Meu, France
Died: April 28, 1716
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort is known as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. The French Roman Catholic priest also authored several books which later became classic Catholic titles and influenced several popes. An early writer in the field of Mariology, he published Secret of the Rosary and True Devotion to Mary about Marian devotions.
 14 
Eusebio Kino
(Italian Jesuit, Missionary, Explorer, Mathematician and Astronomer)
Eusebio Kino
4
Birthdate: August 10, 1645
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Predaia, Italy
Died: March 15, 1711

Eusebio Kino was a Tyrolean missionary, explorer, geographer, astronomer, and cartographer. Nicknamed Father Kino for his missionary work, Eusebio worked closely with the indigenous Native American people, including the Sobaipuri, Tohono O'Odham, and other Upper Piman populations, as part of his exploration. He also led an overland expedition in the Baja California Peninsula, proving that it is not an island.

 15 
Jeanne Guyon
(Mystic)
Jeanne Guyon
3
Birthdate: April 13, 1648
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Montargis, France
Died: June 9, 1717
 16 
Okomfo Anokye
(Priest)
Okomfo Anokye
3
Birthplace: Jomoro, Ghana
Died: 1719 AD
 17 
Gilbert White
(Naturalist)
Gilbert White
3
Birthdate: July 18, 1720
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Selborne, Hampshire, England
Died: June 26, 1793
 18 
Kobayashi Issa
(Japanese Poet and Buddhist Priest of the Jōdo Shinshū Known for His Haiku Poems and Journals)
Kobayashi Issa
3
Birthdate: June 15, 1763
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Near Shinano-machi, Shinano Province, Japan
Died: January 5, 1828

Nineteenth-century Japanese haiku poet Kobayashi Issa, or Issa, who had penned more than 20,000 haiku, remains one of the Great Four haiku masters of his country. Known for his simple and lucid language, he mostly wrote about the common man. He is also said to have originated the Japanese I novel.

 19 
Francis Asbury
(American Bishop)
Francis Asbury
3
Birthdate: August 20, 1745
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Hamstead Bridge, Staffordshire, England
Died: March 31, 1816

Francis Asbury was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He played an important role during the Second Great Awakening, popularizing Methodism in British colonial America. He is credited with establishing many schools and his journal is deemed important by scholars due to its account of frontier society; his journal has descriptions of the functioning of towns in Colonial America.

 20 
Constanzo Beschi
(Poet)
Constanzo Beschi
3
Birthdate: November 8, 1680
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy
Died: February 4, 1747
 21 
John Needham
(British Naturalist, Biologist, and Clergyman Who Supported the 'Theory of Spontaneous Generation')
John Needham
3
Birthdate: September 10, 1713
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: December 30, 1781

British naturalist and biologist John Needham was also a Roman Catholic priest who became the first Catholic clergyman to be named a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He supported the theories of spontaneous generation and vitalism. He also served the Imperial Academy in Brussels as its director.

 22 
Herman of Alaska
(Russian Orthodox Monk Who Was a Missionary to Alaska)
Herman of Alaska
3
Birthdate: 1750 AD
Birthplace: Serpukhov, Russia
Died: November 15, 1836

Starting his monastic life at 16, Russian Orthodox monk Saint Herman of Alaska later became a missionary to Alaska. He gained immense respect of the local people in Alaska and also ran a local school, where he taught church subjects and agriculture. He later moved to Spruce Island, where he eventually died.

 23 
Abbe Faria
(Monk, Physician)
Abbe Faria
0
Birthdate: May 31, 1756
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Candolim, Bardez, Goa
Died: September 20, 1819
 24 
Sheikh Galip
(Ottoman Metaphysical Poet and Mystic)
Sheikh Galip
3
Birthdate: 1757 AD
Birthplace: İstanbul, Turkey
Died: January 3, 1798

Ottoman metaphysical poet and mystic Sheikh Galip, who was also known as Mehmed Esad, was taught by Hodja Neş'et. Known for his poetic works such as Divan and Hüsn ü Aşk, he was known for his use of abstraction and his own vocabulary. He also opposed the prosaic style of poet Nabi.

 25 
Robert Moffat
(British missionary)
Robert Moffat
3
Birthdate: December 21, 1795
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Ormiston, Scotland
Died: August 9, 1883
 26 
George Crabbe
(British Poet, Surgeon and Clergyman Best Known for His Early Use of the Realistic Narrative Form)
George Crabbe
2
Birthdate: December 24, 1754
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England
Died: February 3, 1832

George Crabbe was an English surgeon, poet, and clergyman. He began his career as a doctor's apprentice in the 1770s and later become a surgeon. After a few years, he pursued a living as a poet and also served as a clergyman in various capacities. He wrote poetry mainly in the form of heroic couplets. He was also a coleopterist. 

 27 
William Stukeley
(Physician)
William Stukeley
3
Birthdate: November 7, 1687
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Holbeach, England
Died: March 3, 1765
 28 
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
(Catholic Priest, Leader of the Mexican War of Independence and Recognized as the Father of the Nation)
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
3
Birthdate: May 8, 1753
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Pénjamo, Mexico
Died: July 30, 1811

Spanish priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is remembered as the father of Mexican independence. During the 1808 French invasion of Spain, the Mexicans demanded independence from Spanish rule. Hidalgo’s subsequent call for revolt against the Spanish is remembered as the Cry of Dolores. He was executed by a firing squad.

 29 
James Bradley
(Astronomer)
James Bradley
2
Birthdate: 1693
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Sherborne, Gloucestershire, England
Died: July 13, 1762
 30 
Ignacy Krasicki
(Polish Poet and Archbishop of Gniezno)
Ignacy Krasicki
5
Birthdate: February 3, 1735
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Dubiecko, Poland
Died: March 14, 1801

Ignacy Krasicki was a Primate of Poland, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, translator, critic of the clergy and a prominent Enlightenment poet of Poland. The most notable works of Krasicki are his Fables and Parables and Satires. The first Polish novel, The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom, written in the form of a diary by Krasicki is a milestone in Polish literature.

 31 
Charles Maturin
(Writer)
Charles Maturin
2
Birthdate: September 25, 1780
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Died: October 30, 1824
 32 
William Joseph Chaminade
(Catholic priest)
William Joseph Chaminade
2
Birthdate: April 8, 1761
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kingdom of France
Died: January 22, 1850
 33 
Cardinal de Rohan
(Cardinal)
Cardinal de Rohan
2
Birthdate: September 25, 1734
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: February 16, 1803
 34 
Bernard de Montfaucon
(Scholar)
Bernard de Montfaucon
2
Birthdate: January 13, 1655
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Soulage, France
Died: December 21, 1741
 35 
Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg
(Archbishop of Regensburg)
Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg
2
Birthdate: February 8, 1744
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Herrnsheim, Worms, Germany
Died: February 10, 1817

Among the many positions held by Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, the most notable were those of the arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire and the archbishop of Mainz. Though he wished to establish a national German church, his wishes were toned down by the pope.

 36 
Augustin Barruel
(Priest)
Augustin Barruel
2
Birthdate: October 2, 1741
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Villeneuve-de-Berg, Ardèche, France
Died: October 5, 1820
 37 
Richard Challoner
(Priest)
Richard Challoner
2
Birthdate: September 29, 1691
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Lewes, England
Died: January 12, 1781
 38 
Robert Lowth
(Bishop of the Church of England and Author of One of the Most Influential Textbooks of English Grammar)
Robert Lowth
2
Birthdate: November 27, 1710
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hampshire, England
Died: November 3, 1787

Apart from serving as the Bishop of the Church of England, Robert Lowth had also been an Oxford professor. Among his written works are books on English grammar and treatises on Hebrew poetry. Though offered the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury, he rejected  it citing ill health.

 39 
Henry Sacheverell
(Political figure)
Henry Sacheverell
2
Birthdate: February 8, 1674
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Marlborough, England
Died: June 15, 1724
 40 
Ignaz von Döllinger
(Theologian)
Ignaz von Döllinger
2
Birthdate: February 28, 1799
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bamberg, Germany
Died: January 10, 1890
 41 
John Murphy
(Priest)
John Murphy
0
Birthdate: 1753 AD
Birthplace: Ferns, Ireland
Died: June 26, 1798
 42 
Thomas Ken
(British Cleric and Former Bishop of Bath and Wells)
Thomas Ken
2
Birthdate: 1637
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Little Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England
Died: March 19, 1711

Anglican bishop and hymn writer Thomas Ken had also been King Charles II’s chaplain. He was one of the seven bishops who opposed King James II’s Declaration of Indulgence that was focused on promoting Roman Catholicism. He was eventually forced to retire due to his opposition to William and Mary.

 43 
Public Universal Friend
(American Preacher)
Public Universal Friend
4
Birthdate: November 29, 1752
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Cumberland, Rhode Island, United States
Died: July 1, 1819

Jemima Wilkinson was an American preacher who later became known as the Public Universal Friend after becoming a genderless evangelist. The Public Universal Friend preached throughout the northeastern US. The Friend's teachings attracted several followers who became part of the Society of Universal Friends.

 44 
John W. Beschter
(Priest)
John W. Beschter
0
Birthdate: May 20, 1763
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Duchy of Luxembourg
Died: January 6, 1842
 45 
Jacques Roux
(French Catholic Priest Who Took an Active Role in Politics During the French Revolution)
Jacques Roux
2
Birthdate: August 21, 1752
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Pranzac, France
Died: February 10, 1794

Jacques Roux was a French Roman Catholic priest. During the French Revolution, Roux expounded the ideals of the classless society and popular democracy to working class wage earners, Parisian sans-culottes, and shopkeepers, turning ordinary men into a revolutionary force. He is thus remembered as a radical revolutionary who went on to lead a popular far-left in France.

 46 
Johann Albrecht Bengel
(German Priest and Theologian Known for His Edition of the 'Greek New Testament')
Johann Albrecht Bengel
2
Birthdate: June 24, 1687
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Winnenden, Germany
Died: November 2, 1752

It is unfortunate that German Lutheran clergyman Johann Albrecht Bengel is only remembered for his work on Greek New Testament. One of the greatest biblical scholars, he was also a devout Christian, who founded Swabian Pietism. He was also a pioneer in the modern textual criticism, in scientific exegesis and in modern eschatological study.

 47 
Hosea Ballou
(Former Universalist clergyman, theological writer)
Hosea Ballou
2
Birthdate: April 30, 1771
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Richmond, New Hampshire, United States
Died: June 6, 1852
 48 
Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais
(philosopher)
Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais
2
Birthdate: June 9, 1782
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Saint-Malo, France
Died: February 27, 1854
 49 
Giovanni Battista Martini
(Musician)
Giovanni Battista Martini
2
Birthdate: April 24, 1706
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: August 3, 1784
 50 
Jeremy Collier
(British Theatre Critic, Non-juror Bishop and Theologian)
Jeremy Collier
2
Birthdate: September 23, 1650
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Stow cum Quy, England
Died: April 26, 1726

A non-juror bishop, theologian, celebrated author and theatre critic, Jeremy Collier refused to take oath of allegiance to King William III and was sent twice to prison for supporting James II. Despite that, he publicly gave absolution on the scaffold to King’s enemies and suffered reprisal for it. He published several works, some which became quite controversial.