Topic: Richard Bentley

Richard Bentley (January 27, 1662 – July 14, 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. He was long the master of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Bentley was the first Englishman to be ranked with the great heroes of classical learning and was known for his literary and textual criticism. Called the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is credited with the creation of the English school of Hellenism. He inspired generations of subsequent scholars.

Bentley was born at Oulton near Rothwell, Leeds, West Yorkshire, northern England. His grandfather had suffered for the Royalist cause following the English Civil War, leaving the family in reduced circumstances. Bentley's mother, the daughter of a stonemason, had some education, and was able to give her son his first lessons in Latin.