Linacre, Thomas

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Linacre, Thomas (c.1460–1524). Linacre is believed to have come from Canterbury and was educated at Oxford, where he was elected a fellow of All Souls in 1484. He then went to Italy, graduating as MD from Padua. He returned to Oxford, where his contemporaries included Grocyn and Colet, with a fine reputation as a Greek scholar. In 1509 he was appointed physician to Henry VIII. Linacre was largely instrumental in founding the College of Physicians in 1518 and served as its first president. He left funds for the establishment of lectureships in medicine at both Oxford and Cambridge. His last years were spent in holy orders. Linacre College, Oxford, was founded in 1962 as a postgraduate institute.

J. A. Cannon

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