Life

Born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the son of Ezekiel King, he was related to the family of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...

. From Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

, where he was a scholar under Richard Busby

Richard Busby

The Rev. Dr. Richard Busby was an English Anglican priest who served as head master of Westminster School for more than fifty-five years.-Life:...

, at the age of eighteen he was elected to Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

 in 1681. There he is said to have dedicated himself completely to his studies. Reportedly after eight years he had read over 22,000 books and manuscripts, a figure reduced to about 7,000 in seven years by Thomas Young

Thomas Young (scientist)

Thomas Young was an English polymath. He is famous for having partly deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work...

.

In 1688 he graduated M.A. Taking up the civil law

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

, he became Doctor in 1692, and was admitted an advocate at Doctors' Commons

Doctors' Commons

Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil law in London. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildings with rooms where its members lived and worked, and a large library...

. In 1702, having moved to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, he was made Judge of the Admiralty, Commissioner of the Prizes, Keeper of the Records in Birmingham's Tower, and Vicar-General to Narcissus Marsh

Narcissus Marsh

Narcissus Marsh was an English clergyman who was successively Church of Ireland Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin, Archbishop of Cashel, Archbishop of Dublin and Archbishop of Armagh....

, the primate. King found a friend in Anthony Upton, one of the judges, who had a house called Mountown, near Dublin, where King frequently stayed In 1708, when Lord Wharton was sent to govern Ireland, King returned to London,

In 1710 he became a supporter of the High Church

High church

The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...

 party, on the side of Henry Sacheverell

Henry Sacheverell

Henry Sacheverell was an English High Church clergyman and politician.-Early life:The son of Joshua Sacheverell, rector of St Peter's, Marlborough,...

; and was supposed to have had some part in setting up The Examiner. He was suspicious of the operations of Whiggism

Whiggism

Whiggism, sometimes spelled Whigism, is a historical political philosophy that grew out of the Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The whigs' key policy positions were the supremacy of Parliament , toleration for Protestant dissenters, and opposition to a Catholic on the...

; and he criticised White Kennet's adulatory sermon at the funeral of the Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire KG PC was a soldier and Whig statesman, the son of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Cecil.-Life:...

.

In the autumn of 1712 his health declined and he died on Christmas Day.

Works

In 1688 he published Reflections upon Mons Varillas's History of Heresy, written with Edward Hannes, a confutation of Antoine Varillas

Antoine Varillas

Antoine Varillas was a French historian, best known for his history of heresy.-Life:He was born in Guéret and made a troubled way as a man of letters in Paris. He worked as a historian for Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Then through an introductions from Pierre Dupuy he was able to have library access,...

's account of John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...

. He had already made some translations from the French language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, and written some humorous and satirical pieces and in 1694, Molesworth

Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth

Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth PC came of an old Northamptonshire family. He married Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st Lord Coote of Coloony and Mary St. George.His father Robert Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth PC (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) came of an old...

 published his Account of Denmark, in which he treated the Danes and their monarch with great contempt. This book offended Prince George of Denmark, the consort of Queen Anne

Anne of Great Britain

Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...

; and the Danish Minister protested.

In 1699 he published A Journey to London, after the method of Dr. Martin Lister

Martin Lister

Martin Lister FRS was an English naturalist and physician.-Life:Lister was born at Radcliffe, near Buckingham, the son of Sir Martin Lister MP for Brackley in the Long Parliament and his wife Susan Temple daughter of Sir Alexander Temple. Lister was connected to a number of well known individuals...

, who had published A Journey to Paris. And in 1700 he satirised the Royal Society

Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 — or at least, Sir Hans Sloane

Hans Sloane

Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, PRS was an Ulster-Scot physician and collector, notable for bequeathing his collection to the British nation which became the foundation of the British Museum...

, their president — in two dialogues, entitled The Transactioner. At Mountown he wrote the poem Mully of Mountown.

Back in London, he published some essays, called Useful Transactions, including Voyage to the Island of Cajamai. He then wrote the Art of Love, a poem; and in 1709 imitated Horace

Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...

 in an Art of Cookery, which he published with some letters to Lister. The History of the Heathen Gods, a book composed for schools, was written in 1711. The same year he published Rufinus, a historical essay; and a political poem on Duke of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

and his adherents.