Richard Baxter was born
in Rowton, Shropshire, in 1615. He became a priest and in 1638 was
made a deacon. He developed Puritan
views and became a Presbyterian
minister and during the
Civil War served as a chaplain in the
Parliamentary army.
Although Baxter was critical
of Charles
I he strongly
disapproved of his execution. After the Restoration,
Baxter was appointed as a royal chaplain. However, as he remained
a Presbyterian
, his religious beliefs
made him unpopular with the new leaders of
the Anglican Church. By 1662 he lost
his job and three years later was in prison for expressing his beliefs.
In 1672 Baxter moved to
London and continued to preach until being arrested in 1685 for sedition
and was imprisoned for 18 months. Baxter's autobiography was published
after his death in
1696.
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