, a brave soldier and a distinguished benefactor to All Souls college,
, a brave soldier and a
distinguished benefactor to All Souls college, Oxford, was
born at Barbadoes in 1668, and had part of his education
in that island. He afterwards came over to England, and
was admitted a gentleman-commoner of Christ-church in
Oxford, 1685; where having taken a degree in arts, he
was elected a probationer fellow of All Souls college in
1639. He became perfect, it is said, not only in logic,
history, and the ancient and modern languages, but likewise in poetry, physic, and divinity. Thus qualified, he
went into the army, but without quitting his fellowship;
and being a well-bred and accomplished gentleman, as
well as a scholar, he soon recommended himself to the
favour of king William. He was made captain in the first
regiment of foot guards, and seems to have'been instrumental in driving the French out of the island of St. Christopher’s, which they had seized at the breaking out of the
war between France and England: but it is more certain
that he was at the siege of Namur in 1695. Upon the
conclusion of the peace of Ryswick, he was made captaingeneral and governor in chief of the Leeward Caribhee
Islands, in which office he met with some trouble: for in
1701 several articles were exhibited against him to the
house of commons in England, but he was honourably acquitted from all imputations. In 1703 he was at the attack upon Guadaloupe, belonging to the French, in which
he shewed great bravery, though that enterprise happened
to be unsuccessful. Some time after, he resigned his government of the Leeward islands, and led a studious and
retired life. For a few years before his death, he chiefly
applied himself to church history and metaphysics; and
his eulogist tells us, that “if he excelled in any thing, it
was in metaphysical learning, of which he was perhaps the
greatest master in the world.
” He died in Barbadoes, April
7, 1701, and was buried there the day following; but his
body was afterwards brought over to England, and interred,
June 19, 1716, in All Souls chapel, Oxford. Two Latin
orations to his memory were spoken there by two fellows of
that college; one by Digby Cotes, M. A. the university
orator, at his interment; the other the next day by Edward Young, LL. B. at the laying the foundation stone of
his library. Over his grave a black marble stone was soon
after laid, with no other inscription on it but Codrington.