John Snell - Definition and Overview

John Snell (1629 - August 6, 1679), founder of the Snell exhibitions at Oxford, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of a blacksmith.

He joined the royalists during the civil war, and fought in several battles, including Worcester. Thereafter he took refuge in Cheshire, where he met Sir Orlando Bridgeman, whose clerk he became, being raised to the offices of court-crier and seal-bearer as his patron was promoted to those of judge and Lord Keeper.

Later he was secretary to the Duke of Monmouth and had the management of his Scottish estates. He died at Oxford on the 6th of August 1679, leaving a bequest for sending students from Glasgow University to an Oxford college or hall. The Court of Chancery decided in 1693 that Balliol should receive the beneficiaries.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.