Thomas Smoult graduated BA from St John's in 1654 and became a Fellow in 1664. He proceeded BD in 1666 and DD in 1684. Smoult was the first Professor of Moral Theology at Cambridge, and held various livings in Hertfordshire and Kent. From 1697 until his death he was Royal Chaplain.

Smoult's bequest to the Library

Smoult gave £100 for the purchase of books for the Library. This appears to have been used to buy a wide range of books, from A compleat history of druggs (1712) to the attractively illustrated Voyages de Monsieur le chevalier Chardin, en Perse, et autres lieux de l'Orient (1711). Notable among them are some of the dictionaries and philological works, including Ole Worm's Runir (2nd ed., 1636).

Provenance markings

The books bought with Smoult's bequest bear a book label. Translated it reads:

From the gift of the Reverend Thomas Smoult DD, Fellow of this College, and Professor of Moral Theology in the University of Cambridge, who bequeathed by his will one hundred pounds, with which suitable books were to be bought to enrich this Library.