Desiderius Erasmus
Humanist and theologian Desiderius Erasmus was born in Rotterdam, probably in 1466. After living in a monastery and in Paris he became Professor of Divinity and of Greek at Cambridge University in England.
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There he wrote his satire, Encomium moriae (1509, The Praise of Folly). His masterpiece Colloquia appeared in 1519, an audacious handling of Church abuses. He translated the Greek New Testament into English for the first time, in 1516. From 1521 onwards he lived mainly in Basel, where he was perpetually engaged in controversy but enjoyed great fame and respect in his later years. He died in 1536.
