John Selden (December 16, 1584 – November 30, 1654) was an English jurist, scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath showing true intellectual depth and breadth; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned men reputed in this land."
He was born at Salvington, in the parish of West Tarring, Sussex (now part of the town of Worthing), and was baptised at St Andrew's, the p...
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John Selden (December 16, 1584 – November 30, 1654) was an English jurist, scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath showing true intellectual depth and breadth; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned men reputed in this land."
He was born at Salvington, in the parish of West Tarring, Sussex (now part of the town of Worthing), and was baptised at St Andrew's, the parish church. His father, another John Selden, had a small farm. It is said that his skill as a violin-player was what attracted his wife, Margaret, who was from a better family, being the only child of Thomas Baker of Rustington -- descended from a knightly family of Kent. Selden was educated at the free grammar school at Chichester, and in 1600 he went on to Hart Hall, Oxford. In 1603 he was admitted to Clifford's Inn, London; in 1604 he moved to the Inner Temple; and in 1612 he was called to the bar. His earliest patron was Sir Robert...
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