John Booker (1603–1667) was an English astrologer, respected in that career for over 30 years. In the 1640s he was appointed licenser of mathematical publications, and so in effect a censor of astrological works, for the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...

Life

He was born at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

23 March 1601 OS (equals April 3, 1601); his nativity is among the

Ashmolean The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University o ...

manuscripts. He was apprenticed to a haberdasher in London, taught writing at Hadley School in Middlesex, and clerk to two city magistrates. The first number of his

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

, the ''Telescopium Uranium'', was published in 1631. He obtained a reputation from a prediction of the deaths of Gustavus Adolphus and

Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both ...

, founded on a solar eclipse. In 1640

William Lilly William Lilly (9 June 1681) was a seventeenth century English astrologer. He is described as having been a genius at something "that modern mainstream opinion has since decided cannot be done at all" having developed his stature as the most imp ...

thought highly of him, but they quarrelled over Booker's actions as licenser. Booker also engaged in violent controversy with

Sir George Wharton Sir George Wharton, 1st Baronet (4 April 1617 – 12 August 1681) was an English Royalist soldier and astrologer. He was also known for his poetry. Life He was the son of a blacksmith in Westmorland. He went to Oxford to study, though not admitte ...

. In 1648 Booker and Lilly were required to come to the siege of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

to encourage the Parliamentarian troops with predictions. At the Restoration he petitioned for leave to continue the publication of his almanac. He died on 8 April 1667, after three years' suffering from

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

bought his books and papers.

Works

His ''Bloody Irish Almanack'' contains historical material on the Irish rebellion, and he is the author of ''Tractatus Paschalis, or a Discourse concerning the Holy Feast of Easter'' (1664).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Booker, John 1600s births 1667 deaths English astrologers 17th-century astrologers