Titus Oates
| Titus Oates | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
15 September 1649 Oakham, Rutland, England |
| Died | 13 July 1705 (aged 55) London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Known for | Fabricating the Popish Plot |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 England
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1675-1676 |
| Rank | Naval chaplain |
Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705), also called Titus the Liar, was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.
Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland.
His father Samuel, a graduate of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, was a minister who moved between the Church of England and the Baptists; he became a Baptist during the Puritan Revolution, rejoining the established church at the Restoration, and was rector of All Saints' Church at Hastings (1666–74).
Oates was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and other schools.
At Cambridge University, he entered Gonville and Caius College in 1667 but transferred to St John's College in 1669; he left later the same year without a degree. A less than astute student, he was regarded by his tutor as "a great dunce", although he did have a good memory. While at Cambridge, he also gained a reputation for homosexuality and a "Canting Fanatical way".
By falsely claiming to have a degree, he gained a licence to preach from the bishop of London. On 29 May 1670 he was ordained as a priest of the Church of England. He was vicar of the parish of Bobbing in Kent, 1673–74, and then curate to his father at All Saints', Hastings. During this time Oates accused a schoolmaster in Hastings of sodomy with one of his pupils, hoping to get the schoolmaster's post. However, the charge was shown to be false and Oates himself was soon facing charges of perjury, but he escaped jail and fled to London. In 1675 he was appointed as a chaplain of the ship Adventurer in the Royal Navy. Oates visited Tangier with his ship, but was soon accused of buggery, which was a capital offence, and spared only because of his clerical status. He was dismissed from the navy in 1676.
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