Robert Johnson (1540 – 1625) was a Church of England cleric and the founder of both Oakham School and Uppingham School. The old school at Uppingham - geograph

He was a Puritan rector of North Luffenham, Rutland, for 51 years, from 1574 until his death. He was also a

Canon of Windsor The Dean and Canons of Windsor are the ecclesiastical body of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Foundation The college of canons was established in 1348 by Letters Patent of King Edward III. It was formally constituted on the feast of ...

(1572 to 1625) and

Archdeacon of Leicester The Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominati ...

(1591 to 1625), and using the income from these and other church posts he held concurrently, he founded free grammar schools in Oakham and Uppingham in 1584, as well as other charitable institutions. He enjoyed the patronage of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley.

Family

He was born in Stamford to Maurice and Jane Johnson, one of seven children; his father was Member of Parliament for Stamford. He married three times and had a son, Abraham, by his third wife, Maria (née Hird); through his son he had thirteen grandchildren. His grandson,

Isaac Johnson Isaac Johnson (November 1, 1803 – March 15, 1853) was a US politician and the 12th Governor of the state of Louisiana. Born on his father's plantation "Troy" near St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, Johnson was the fourth son of Jo ...

, married

Lady Arbella Clinton Lady Arbella Johnson (née Clinton; 3 August 1597 – 30 August 1630) was one of the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was the daughter of Thomas Clinton, 3rd Earl of Lincoln and his wife Elizabeth. William Allen suggests that s ...

, who gave her name to Governor John Winthrop's flagship the '' Arbella''. Three other Great Nephews, John Johnson, Thomas Johnson, and Robert Johnson were among the founders of New Haven, Connecticut. Robert Johnson's relative

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

founded King's College, now Columbia University. Robert Johnson died on 23 July 1625 in North Luffenham and his memorial is in the chancel of the church there.

Charitable works

His puritan beliefs meant he placed great importance on education, and he set up the grammar schools in the two towns of

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

so that those who were too poor to pay for schooling could be taught Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Among other endowments and foundations, Archdeacon Johnson founded Hospitals of Christ in Oakham and Uppingham, and re-founded and endowed the old hospital of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Anne in Oakham. The schools and hospitals received their charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1587. He was also one of the eight founding fellows of Jesus College, Oxford. A statue of Johnson can be seen on the Victoria Tower of Uppingham School.

References

External links

History of Oakham School and Archdeacon Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Robert 1540 births 1625 deaths People from North Luffenham 16th-century English Puritan ministers 17th-century English Anglican priests Canons of Windsor Archdeacons of Leicester English philanthropists Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford