Linacre, Thomas (1460?-1524), was a physician and classical scholar. He helped to found the College of Physicians in England and was its first president. He aimed to introduce the teaching of medicine into universities and founded a readership (teaching position) in the subject at Oxford University. He was appointed physician to King Henry VIII. During his lifetime, Linacre was better known for his classical scholarship. He translated the works of Galen, a physician who practiced medicine in the A.D. 100’s, and the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and wrote books on Latin grammar. Linacre taught Greek to the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus and the English scholar Sir Thomas More (also known as Saint Thomas More). Linacre was probably born in Canterbury. He died on Oct. 20, 1524.
