Milner, Joseph, 1744-1797

Joseph Milner was born on 2 January 1745 near Leeds, the son of a weaver. At the age of three, he contracted the measles, and his health remained weak throughout his childhood. The headmaster of Leeds grammar school took a personal interest in Milner, teaching him Greek and Latin. Milner went on to become a private tutor. He attended St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, and earned the BA in 1766. After becoming a deacon, Milner served as afternoon lecturer at Holy Trinity in Hull and as curate of North Ferriby. He experienced an evangelical conversion around 1770. As Milner's authority grew within Hull, the town became known as a center for evangelicalism. He became vicar of North Ferriby in 1786 and was offered the living of Holy Trinity in 1797. Milner died on 15 November 1797, after catching a cold en route to New York. Milner was known for his works of ecclesiastical history and biography. His published works include Gibbon's Account of Christianity Considered (1781) and Essays on Several Religious Subjects (1789).

Epithet: senior