Hugh Percival Wharton Gatty followed his father to St John's in 1925 to read history. After graduating in 1928 he spent time in Austria and developed a strong interest in German culture. He also had an enthusiasm for eighteenth-century art and literature. In 1936 he was appointed College lecturer in history, and in 1937 he became Librarian, allowing him to indulge his passion for the College's historical treasures.

Ralph Hare Griffin came to St John's in 1873, was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1878, and was called to the Bar in 1881. He was Registrar of Patents and Designs for thirty years, but had active interests outside his legal career, serving as Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries from 1921 to 1927, and Honorary Keeper of monumental brass rubbings at Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Richard Pendlebury entered St John's in 1866 and graduated senior wrangler in 1870. A fellowship followed, and from 1888 he served as University Lecturer in Mathematics. He collected both early mathematical texts and printed music, and was a pioneering Alpine mountaineer.

Pendlebury's bequest to the Library

After his death Pendlebury's collections of music were left to the Fitzwilliam Museum, but his mathematical collections came to St John's. They include many items of interest, in particular eight items of mathematical incunabula. Highlights include:

George Udny Yule was born near Haddington, and studied civil engineering at University College London, and later also physics at Bonn University. He returned to London and became assistant professor of applied mathematics at University College in 1896. On marrying, Yule moved jobs becoming both an assistant to Sir Philip Magnus, at the department of technology at the City and Guilds Institute, as well as Newmarch Lecturer in Statistics at UCL.

Rollo Brice-Smith graduated in classics from St John's in 1908, proceeding MA in 1912. He was an educationalist who became headmaster of Llandaff Cathedral School in 1911, and of Brightlands in Newnham on Severn in 1932.

Brice-Smith's gift to the Library

Among other gifts to the College, Brice-Smith gave a fine collection of around 380 volumes from private presses which were presented to the Library by his sister Margaret on his death. The presses represented include Curwen, Golden Cockerel, Gregynog, Haslewood, Nonesuch, and Shakespeare Head.

Peter Gunning was born in Kent and matriculated at Clare College, Cambridge in 1629, graduating in 1633. Gunning remained at Clare until he was ejected by parliamentary commissioners in 1644 due to the royalist sympathies manifested in his preaching. He then moved to be with the royal court in Oxford, where he stayed as chaplain of New College until the royalist surrender. For ten years he served as a tutor and chaplain in the households of various royalist nobles, before commencing preaching to a congregation with royalist sympathies at the chapel of Exeter House on the Strand.

John Carey became a fellow-commoner of St John's in 1624, and was styled Viscount Rochford from 1628, and Baron Hunsdon from 1640. He was Colonel of a regiment of foot in the Royalist army, but was accused of High Treason in 1644. He was also briefly Speaker of the House of Lords in 1647. On his death both the Earldom of Dover and the Viscountcy of Rochford became extinct.

Thomas Bendish matriculated from St John's in 1624, before being admitted to the Middle Temple in 1626. Owing to his support for the King on the outbreak of the Civil Wars, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and his estates sequestered. On his release he was fined and banished from his native Essex, before experiencing an upturn in his career in 1647, when he was appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. On his arrival in Istanbul his predecessor refused to relinquish his position and had to be forcibly ejected.

Samuel Howlett gained his BA from St John's in 1663/4 and his MA in 1667. He was elected to a Fellowship in 1664, although this ceased in 1671, possibly due to his death.

Howlett's gift to the Library

The Book of Benefactors records that Howlet left around eighty volumes to St John's in Italian, French, Spanish and German. Only thirty or so of these are still identifiable, most of which are French or Italian volumes on language and history. None of the German works mentioned are now identifiable in the Old Library.

Provenance markings

John Hacket studied at Trinity, and became the household chaplain of John Williams after the latter was made Lord Keeper. Williams was to remain his patron and friend. Hacket was made chaplain to James I, after the King visited Cambridge to see Hacket's play Loyola, written as part of the University's entertainment for the Spanish ambassador on a previous visit.