John Taylor

John Taylor (22 June 1704 – 4 April 1766), English classical scholar, was born at Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. Life His father was a barber, and, by the generosity of one of his close customers, the son, having received his early education at the grammar school of his native town, was sent to St John's College, Cambridge. In 1732, he was appointed librarian, and in 1734 Registrary of the university. Somewhat late in life he took orders and became rector of Lawford in Essex in 1751, Archdeacon of Buckingham in 1753, canon of St Paul's in 1757. He died in London on 4 April 1766, aged 61 and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral. He is also shown as Prebendary of Aylesbury from 1745 to 1747 and again from 1750 to 1756. Taylor is best known for his editions of some of the Greek orators, chiefly valuable for the notes on Attic law, e.g. Lysias (1739); Demosthenes' Contra Leptinem (1741) and Contra Midiam (1743, with Lycurgus' Contra Leocratem), intended as specimens of a proposed edition, in five volumes, of the orations of Demosthenes, Aeschines, Dinarchus, and Demades, of which only vols. ii and iii were published.