Caius College, Cambridge by Loggan 1690 - cai loggan

James Halman (c. 1639 – 23 December 1702) was an academic of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He held the office of

Registrary The Registrary is the senior administrative officer of the University of Cambridge. The term is unique to Cambridge, and uses an archaic spelling. Most universities in the United Kingdom and in North America have administrative offices entitled "reg ...

of the university from 1683 to 1701 and was also the twenty-third Master of Gonville and Caius College. His surname was sometimes also spelt Holman.

Early life

Halman was the son of Nicholas Halman, a

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man and Rector of

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. He was educated at Holt School before being admitted to Gonville and Caius College as a sizar on 27 June 1655 and being at once elected as a scholar of the college. He graduated

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1658 and proceeded to MA in 1662. John Venn, ''Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College: Masters''
p. 110
/ref>

Life

On 2 July 1662 Halman was elected a junior

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of his college. Unusually for a Cambridge don of the period, he seems never to have taken holy orders, and in 1669 he failed to respond in

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, pleading an attack of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Despite this, on 9 March 1671 he was elected as a senior fellow of the college, in which he lived continuously for some forty years, becoming Lecturer, Dean, Bursar, and finally Master. Beyond the confines of the college, in November 1683 he was elected as Registrary of the University, a significant office which he continued to hold until 1701, a year before his death, having been supported in the election to the post by

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...

. Finally elected as Master of Caius on 24 October 1700, Halman was the twenty-third to hold the office, but presided over his college for barely two years. In 1696

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...

was given the power to establish a "new-style"

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, and in July 1697 Halman made a loan of one hundred pounds to "the Chancellor Masters and Schollars of the University... towards the printing house and presse", subsequently receiving six per cent interest on it until the loan was repaid in full on 24 October 1702. At the same time the

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

made the University a loan of £200 for the same purpose. Halman was a friend of another fellow of Caius, Henry Jenkes, who died in 1697, and by a Will made in 1684 Jenkes left his library and all his other worldly goods to "my worthy friend, Mr James Halman", appointing him his sole executor and instructing him "to burn my papers, or else to publish them cum judicio et dilectu". Halman died in Caius and on 23 December 1702 was entombed in the college chapel. In 1829 a portrait of him was reported to be still in the Master's Lodge,Charles Henry Hartshorne, ''The Book Rarities in the University of Cambridge'' (1829)
p. 507
/ref> but in a history of the college published in the 1890s John Venn said of Halman as Master that "his brief career in that capacity has left no perceptible impression behind".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halman, James 1630s births 1702 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Masters of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge People educated at Gresham's School Registraries of the University of Cambridge People from North Norfolk (district)