William Smith

Very Revd. Dr William Smith (1711–1787), Dean of Chester, Greek and Latin scholar and first translator of the works of Thucydides.

Smith was born in Worcester in 1711, the son of the rector of St Nicholas' Church. He was sent to RGS Worcester after which he proceeded to New College, Oxford in 1728. He remained here for many years gaining four degrees including D.D. in 1758. He became headmaster of Brentwood School, Essex, in 1748, before leaving to become vicar of St George's, Liverpool. He left there in 1767 to go to Chester and after a time in Holy Trinity became Dean of Chester Cathedral. He remained in this post until his death in 1787. Amongst his greatest achievements was the translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War and some of his other works as well as the works of Xenophon including A History of Greece.

Dictionary of National Biography

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