Oates
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Oates. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
ots, Titus (1649-1705), an English impostor. Although the son of a Baptist minister, and himself educated for that sacred office, he appears to have been a man of vile character. He was turned out of a chaplaincy in the Parliamentary army and was expelled from various schools, including Cambridge University , without a degree. Among his earlier exploits was the circulation of stories against a schoolmaster of his parish, resulting in his own expulsion. About 1676 the Catholics, who had held high hopes of something being done for their religion by Charles II, were very generally suspected of intriguing to secure the removal of the dissolute Episcopal Charles and the elevation to the throne of his austere Catholic brother, the Duke of York, afterward known as James II . Oates came forward with apparent proof of a Catholic conspiracy. His testimony was believed by the courts. Thirty-five more or less innocent persons were executed, and Oates was granted a pension. Two years later, after excitement had subsided, suspicions of Oates' good faith arose. He was arrested, tried for perjury, and found guilty. He was condemned to pay a fine, to stand in the pillory, and to endure a flogging which was expected to end his life. His constitution was so hardy, however, that he survived the flogging. On the accession of William and Mary he was awarded a second pension and raised his head again. He married a rich widow and even reentered the Baptist ministry. He was soon expelled by that denomination, however, and ended his days in obscurity. The historian Macaulay sets out in scathing terms the character of this abandoned man. See Gunpowder Plot
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
TITUS, an English impostor; son of a ribbon weaver; born in Oakham, England, in 1649. He took orders in the Church of England, and held benefices in Kent and Sussex; became afterward chaplain in the navy and was discharged for misconduct; turned Roman Catholic, and resided for some time at the Jesuit College of Valladolid and St. Omar, but was finally, in 1678, dismissed for repeated misdemeanors. He returned to England and concocted the story of the famous Popish Plot. In the public excitement created by the story several eminent Catholics were executed, while Titus Oates was lodged handsomely in Whitehall, with a pension of $4,500 from Parliament. After the execution of Strafford, there was a revulsion of public opinion. He was convicted of perjury, sentence sentenced to be pilloried five times a year, whipped from Aldgate to Newgate, and imprisoned for life. On the accession of William and Mary he was freed, enjoying an ill-deserved pension of $1,500 a year. He died in London, England, July 12, 1705.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Nothing in Oates's life has moved since these accounts, and modern historians are no kinder to him than Macaulay was: the Popish Plot he invented in 1678 is still treated as pure fabrication, exploited by politicians during the Exclusion Crisis to keep James, Duke of York, from the throne. Two details in the accounts are worth flagging. Collier's says the revulsion came "after the execution of Strafford" "an obvious slip for William Howard, Viscount Stafford, beheaded in 1680; the Earl of Strafford died in 1641. And where Aiton's makes Oates the son of a Baptist minister and Collier's the son of a ribbon weaver, both are right: Samuel Oates was a weaver turned Anabaptist preacher. The detailed modern account of the affair is John Kenyon's The Popish Plot (1972).
Written for this edition, 2026.