John Duncan
D.D.
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...
(3 November 1721 – 28 December 1808) was an English miscellaneous writer, and British Army chaplain.
Life
He was born in
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, a younger son of Dr. Daniel Duncan, author of some religious tracts, and grandson of
Daniel Duncan, M.D., whose memoir (together with an account of the Duncan family) he contributed to the ''
Biographia Britannica''.
He was born 3 November 1721, entered
Merchant Taylors' School Merchant Taylors' School may refer to:
*Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood (founded 1561), is a British independent school originally located in the City of London and now located in Northwood in Middlesex .
* Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosb ...
at the age of twelve,
[ cites the Merchant Taylors' School ''Register'' for date of birth.] and proceeded thence (1739) to
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
, as probationary fellow. After graduating (M.A. 1746), and taking holy orders, he became chaplain to the forces, and served with the king's own regiment during the
Scots' rebellion in 1746, and afterwards at the
Siege of St. Philip's Castle, Minorca.
He was made D.D. by decree of convocation in 1757, he was presented six years later to the college living of
South Warnborough, Hampshire, which he retained until his death at Bath, 28 December 1808.
Works
He published:
# A sermon on ''The Defects and Dangers of a Pharisaical Righteousness'', Glasgow, 1751;
# ''An Address to the Rational Advocates for the Church of England'', by
Phileleutherus Tyro (1759);
# ''The Evidence of Reason in Proof of the Immortality of the Soul. Collected from the manuscripts of Mr. Baxter (by J. D.), to which is prefixed a letter from the editor to Dr. Priestley'' (1779);
# and a poetical "Essay on Happiness, in four books", which went through a second edition in 1772,
besides tracts and other fugitive pieces.
Notes
References
:Attribution
*; Endnotes:
**Robinson's Reg. of Merchant Taylors' School, ii. 82
**British Museum Catalogue
**Gentlemen's Magazine 1809, i. 89.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, John
1721 births
1808 deaths
18th-century English writers
British chaplains
Clergy from Bath, Somerset
Writers from Bath, Somerset
English male writers