John Bale

John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English, and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being dispersed. His contention that Joseph of Arimathea had brought a proto-Protestant faith to Britain that was purer than Catholicism was to have far-reaching ramifications; but his unhappy disposition and habit of quarrelling earned him the nickname "bilious Bale".

21 November 1495

Born on the same birth day (21 November): Andrew Caddick • Brian McNamara • Leo Politi • Sam Palladio • Sergei Ratnikov • Stefan Glarner • Steven Curtis Chapman • Will Buckley (footballer) • William Wakefield Baum