Thomas Holland (translator)
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Biography
Thomas Holland (1539, in Ludlow, Shropshire – 17 March 1612) was an English Calvinist scholar and theologian, and one of the translators of the King James Version of the Bible.
He was a 1570 graduate of Exeter College, Oxford and Fellow of Balliol. In 1585 he served as personal chaplain to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, who was appointed governor of the Netherlands. Dudley, who was an ardent Protestant, utilized Holland in maintaining religious rigor among the troops during the two-year campaign which ended without great success and few battle engagements. For his service to Dudley, Holland was graciously rewarded by Queen Elizabeth.
Returning to Oxford, Holland served as Rector of Exeter College and was appointed Regius Professor of Divinity in 1589. He was a member of the "First Oxford Company", responsible for the books of the Old Testament prophets, in the project to create an Authorised Version of the Bible for reading in the churches.
He is interred in the chancel of St Mary's church, Oxford.