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Likely to be Edward Stanhope, born at Rampton in or around the early 1470s, son of Sir Thomas Stanhope, and a member of the prominent Nottinghamshire Stanhope family. Edward fought both at the Battle of Stoke in 1487 and at the Battle of Blackheath in 1497, whereupon he was knighted for his valour. He served as Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire; Steward of Wakefield; and Constable of Sandale Castle, West Yorkshire. He was married first to Avelina Clifton, daughter of Sir Gervas Clifton, and second, to Elizabeth Bourchier, daughter of Foulk Bourchier, Lord Fitz-Waren.

Daughter of John Flygh, yeoman of the wardrobe to Henry VII. Alice was married to Edmund Stanhope, son of Henry Stanhope.

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, was the nephew of Henry Stafford and Lady Margaret Beaufort, the eldest son of Henry Stafford’s brother, Humphrey Stafford. Following the death of his father in 1458, he became a ward of King Edward IV of England and was appointed Duke of Buckingham in 1460, after the death of his grandfather, the 1st Duke of Buckingham. In 1466, Stafford was married to Catherine Woodville (c.1458-1497), the sister of Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Together, they had four children.

In the months following Edward IV’s death in 1483, Stafford initially appeared to back the succession of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to the throne as Richard III of England. But quickly disillusioned with Richard, Stafford switched allegiance to his cousin, Henry Tudor, and mounted a rebellion against Richard in Tudor’s name. The rebellion was unsuccessful and Stafford was executed for treason at Salisbury in November 1483.

Henry Stafford was the second son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and the third husband of Lady Margaret Beaufort, his second cousin. They were wedded in January 1458 and enjoyed a long and ostensibly amicable marriage until Stafford’s death in 1471. Like Lady Margaret, Stafford backed the House of Lancaster during the early years of the Wars of the Roses and fought alongside the Lancastrians at the battle of Towton in March 1461. However, following his pardon by Edward IV of England in June 1461, Stafford retained a cautious allegiance to the Yorkist King in subsequent challenges to his sovereignty. Stafford supported Edward at the Battle of Losecoat Field in 1470 and again at Barnet in 1471, where he was wounded during the conflict and later died from his injuries.

Edward Stafford was the eldest son of Lady Margaret Beaufort’s nephew, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Catherine Woodville. Lady Margaret assumed the wardship of Edward, together with responsibility for his estates, in August 1486, a year after the accession of King Henry VII of England to the crown. Edward’s father, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, had been executed several years earlier in 1483 by King Richard III of England on the charge of treason, and his attainder was only formally reversed following Richard’s death in 1485.

It is likely that the young Edward, now the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was educated in Lady Margaret’s households. In December 1490, he married Eleanor Percy (c.1474-1530), daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. Buckingham became a conspicuous figure within the royal circle and was frequently in attendance at court. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1495 and became a member of King Henry VIII’s Privy Council in 1509. In 1521, he was arrested and charged with plotting to overthrow the king. Found guilty at trial, Buckingham was beheaded on 17 May 1521 and his honours and estates were subsequently forfeited.

The origins of St. Radegund's Priory (also known as the Priory of St. Mary and St. Radegund) are unknown, though it is likely it was founded in the earliest years of the reign of King Stephen, during the episcopate of Nigellus, Bishop of Ely. There seem to be no records of its patronage; in 1496, when Bishop Alcock planned to convert the Priory into a college, he stated that it was 'of the foundation and patronage of the Bishop of Ely', though this assertion has been questioned.

During its time, though the Priory was given numerous small benefactions and gifts of land, it was never wealthy, with its poverty said to be notorious by 1277. This contributed to the Priory falling into a bad state of repair as there were not the funds necessary to fix damage caused by storms and fires. These conditions as well as the extravagant and dissolute life of the nuns, attributed to their proximity to the University of Cambridge, led to Henry VI in 1496 granting permission to Bishop Alcock to take the buildings and estates of the Priory for the foundation of what is known today as Jesus College, Cambridge.

Chamberlain to Lady Margaret Beaufort after 1504 and an executor of her will.

Nigel John Spearing was born on the 8th of October 1930, to Austen and May Spearing. He was educated at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith, before going up to St Catherine’s College, Cambridge.

After his graduation, Spearing worked in education at both Wandsworth and Elliott School. However, he was best known for his career in politics, which began when he joined the Labour Party. He became the MP for Acton in 1970, and Newham South in 1974; he would hold this seat until the abolishment of the constituency in 1997. During his time in politics, he promoted the Private Members Bill, which became the Industrial Diseases (Notification) Act 1981. A noted Eurosceptic, Spearing chaired a panel on European Legislation and campaigned both against the common market and for British independence from the European Union.

Spearing occupied his spare time with rowing, cycling, and reading. He married his wife Wendy in 1956, and they had one son and two daughters. He died on the 8th of January 2017.

Sir Robert Southwell was a lawyer and a royal administrator during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. A descendant of a wealthy Norfolk family, Southwell was a member of Lincoln’s Inn and rose to prominence during the 1490s, when he worked in the crown lands administration on various appointments, receiverships and special commissions. By 1503, he occupied the role of general surveyor of all the royal lands. From 1504, he served as chief butler of England and in 1510, he was appointed chief auditor of the exchequer. He died in 1514.

Illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and Joan Hill. He spent his childhood in exile and came to England with Henry Tudor in 1485, who knighted him on 7 August 1485. He stopped using the surname Beaufort and took that of Somerset instead. He married Henry VII's ward, Elizabeth Herbert, the sole heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, in 1492. Through his wife he acquired substantial lands in Wales. He administered the marcher lordship of Glamorgan for the Crown and was awarded more lands and titles, making him the most powerful man in south Wales. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1496. In 1501 he was made Vice-Chamberlain of Henry VII's household. In 1504 he was created Baron Herbert. In 1509 Henry VIII made him Lord Chamberlain, head of the royal household. Both monarchs employed him on international military and diplomatic missions. He was created Earl of Worcester in 1514 and in the period 1518-1520 conducted negotiations with France, culminating in the Field of the Cloth of Gold, for the organisation of which he was mostly responsible. He died on 25 April 1526 and was buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Son of Edward (or Edmund), of Lathom, Lancashire. Born in Lathom, Lancashire. Admitted sizar at St John's, 19 May 1651, aged 19. School at Winwick, Lancashire. M.A. 1659; B.D. 1666; D.D. 1684. Fellow of St John's College from 1664. Incorporated at Oxford, 1663. First Knightbridge Professor of Moral Theology, 1683-1707. Rectir of Northchurch, Hertfordshire; vicar of Bexley, Kent, 1659-65; vicar of Barkway, Hertfordshire, 1666-94; rector of Berkhampsted, 1693. Chaplain to the King, c. 1697-1707. Died 9 Jul., 1707, aged 74. Monumental Inscription in Barkway Church, Hertfordshire.

Born Francesco della Rovere, Pope Sixtus IV held papal office from 1471 until his death in 1484. Raised in the Italian region of Liguria, Francesco studied at the University of Padua and, as a young man, became a member of the Franciscan Order. He served as Minister General of the Order from 1464 to 1469 and as Cardinal-priest of San Pietro in Vincoli from 1467 to 1471. As Pope, Sixtus was a patron of both the arts and sciences – the Sistine Chapel in Rome was famously restored during his time in office – yet his papacy was also characterised by nepotism and rumours of sexual scandal.

Simpson was a student at St. John’s College, matriculating in 1971. He was a contemporary and friend of Douglas Adams. Adams and Simpson shared rooms along with Nick Barton in Adams’ third year. The character of Zaphod Beeblebrox from 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' was based, according to Adams' own account on Simpson.

Edward Ernest Sikes was born on the 26th April, 1867, in Kent, and educated at Aldenham School. At the end of 1885, he was awarded a scholarship at St John’s College, where he would also go on to win a Brown Medal and achieve first place in the First Class in Part I of the Classical Tripos of 1889. He later went out to study at the British School at Athens, before being elected to a Fellowship in 1891.
Sikes’ career at St John’s continued when the next year he was awarded the title of Assistant Lecturer; and, then, Lecturer, a position which he held from 1894 to 1938. He became a Tutor in 1900, a task which he undertook for the next twenty-five years.
When not teaching, Sikes was also a prolific author, publishing works such as Roman Poetry, The Greek View of Poetry, and a translation of Hero and Leander. He was also known to enjoy football, cricket, and music; Sikes was a Chairman of the Smoking Concerts, and President of the musical society.
Sikes remained at St John’s for almost all of the rest of his life, with the exclusion of a brief tenure as a Visiting Professor at Harvard University. He died at Bournemouth, on the 5th February 1940.

Obituary in the Eagle: Vol. 52, Mich 1941, p. 43.
Accessible online at: https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Eagle/Eagle%20Volumes/1940s/1942/Eagle_1941_Michaelmas.pdf

Robert Shorton was the first Master of St. John’s College, Cambridge, from its foundation in 1511 to Shorton’s resignation in 1516. A scholar of Jesus College, Cambridge, Shorton graduated M.A. (1503), D.D. (1511-12). He was elected Fellow of Pembroke Hall in 1505 and later served as Master there, from 1518 to 1534. Shorton was also Almoner to Queen Catherine of Aragon and supported her cause in convocation. Among his many clerical appointments, he served as Canon of Windsor (1527-35) and Archdeacon of Bath (1534-35). He was appointed Master of Stoke-by-Clare College, Suffolk, in 1529 and was buried there after his death in October 1535.

Dr. Lewis Erle Shore was a prominent physiologist and neurologist. He was born in Churcham, Gloucestershire in 1863. He was the second son of archaeologist T.W. Shore.
He was educated at Southampton Grammar School and Hartley College. Shore came to St John's College in 1882, graduated BA in 1884, and gained a First Class in Part II of the Natural Sciences Tripos in 1885. He then entered St. Bartholomew’s hospital and he graduated in medicine in 1887. In 1887 Shore was awarded his MB and BChir, and his MD followed in 1891.
Shore was a Fellow of St John's from 1890 until his death, and served as Junior Bursar of the College from 1901 to 1933. He was University Demonstrator in Physiology, 1887-1896, and University Lecturer in Physiology, 1896-1930. He contributed a number of articles to the ‘Journal of Physiology’ on various subjects including peptone, gaseous metabolism of the liver and the effects of chloroform. He also co-wrote, alongside Sir Michael Foster, a popular textbook: ‘Physiology for beginners’ which reached a second edition in 1913.
Shore also served on the staff of the 1st Eastern General Hospital at Cambridge from 1916-19 where he specialised in caring for the neurological patients. He was made an OBE in 1919. At the annual meeting of the BMA held in Cambridge in 1920 he was vice-president of the section of Neurology and Psychiatry. He died on July 27th 1944 in Bath.