John Palmer (1742–1786) was an English Unitarian minister.

Life

The son of John Palmer, wig-maker, he was born at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. He was a protégé of John Taylor, who began his education, and, on becoming divinity tutor at

Warrington Academy Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the established Church of England. It was located in Warrington (then ...

, placed Palmer (1756) at school in Congleton, Cheshire, under

Edward Harwood Edward Harwood (1729–1794) was a prolific English classical scholar and biblical critic. Life Harwood was born at Darwen, Lancashire, in 1729. After attending a school at Darwen, he went in 1745 to the Blackburn grammar school under Thomas Hu ...

. He entered Warrington Academy in 1759;

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

was, from 1761, one of his tutors. In his last year he was constant supply (14 May 1763 to 15 August 1764) at Allostock, Cheshire. He then kept a school at Macclesfield, Cheshire. In 1772 he became minister of King Edward Street Chapel, Macclesfield. There was an orthodox secession from his ministry; he consequently resigned in 1779, and moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

without regular charge, being in independent circumstances. At Birmingham he renewed his acquaintance with Priestley, and was a member of a fortnightly clerical club which arranged the material for the ''

Theological Repository The ''Theological Repository'' was a periodical founded and edited from 1769 to 1771 by the eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley. Although ostensibly committed to the open and rational inquiry of theological questions, the journ ...

''. In 1782 Priestley recommended him, but without effect, as colleague to Joseph Bretland at Exeter. Palmer died of paralysis at Birmingham on Tuesday, 26 December 1786, and was buried in the Old Meeting graveyard on 2 January 1787; Priestley preached (8 January) his funeral sermon. He married, first, at Macclesfield, Miss Heald; secondly, in 1777, the eldest daughter of Thomas White, dissenting minister at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, by whom he left one daughter.

Works

He published: * ‘Free Remarks on a Sermon entitled “The Requisition of Subscription not inconsistent with Christian Liberty,”’ &c., 1772, anon. * ‘A Letter to Dr. Balguy,’ &c., 1773, (reply to the archidiaconal charge, 1772, by Thomas Balguy). * ‘A New System of Shorthand; being an Improvement upon … Byrom,’ &c., 1774. * ‘An Examination of Thelyphthora,’ &c., 1781. Against

Martin Madan Martin Madan (1726 – 2 May 1790) was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for his contribution to Methodist music, 'The Lock Hospital Collection,' and later controversial views on marriage expressed in his book ''Thelyphthora''. ...

. His contributions to the ''Theological Repository'' (1769–71) are signed ‘G.H.;’ contributions in later volumes (1784–6) are signed ‘Christophilos,’ ‘Symmachus,’ and ‘Erasmus.’ A letter from him is printed in Priestley's ''Harmony of the Evangelists'' (1780).

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, John 1742 births 1786 deaths English Unitarians