Hales, John (1584–1656)

English scholar and theologian. He attended the Synod of Dort in 1618. His reports appear in his Golden Remains (1659). His tract, ‘Schism and Schismatics’ (1636), was seen by Laud, who made him a chaplain. Laud obtained a canonry for him at Windsor. In 1642 he was deprived of his office.

He was born at Bath, and educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In 1612 he became public lecturer in Greek at Oxford University. After losing his office at Windsor, he retired to Eton.

Hales, John (died 1571)

English political thinker. He led the 16th-century Commonwealth movement which campaigned against enclosures. Its inspiration came from Protestant clerics of whom Hugh Latimer was prominent.

Hales was a Coventry layman, a Chancery official, and was MP for Preston in 1547. He considered that property was entrusted to individuals so that it might be used for the public good, and therefore opposed enclosures.

In his Discourse of the Common Weal (1549), he attributed price rises to debasement of the coinage and to the increased supply of precious metals.