Thomas Vincent

Thomas Vincent (May 1634 – 15 October 1678) was an English Puritan and nonconformist minister and author. Ejected from the rectory of St Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, London, under the Act of Uniformity 1662, he later preached at Hoxton.

Vincent is chiefly remembered for God's Terrible Voice in the City (1667), his account of the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London. Seven members of his household died during the plague, and he continued preaching in London parish churches during the outbreak.

Early life and education Vincent was born at Hertford in May 1634, the second son of John Vincent and the elder brother of Nathaniel Vincent, who also became a nonconformist minister. Educated at Westminster School and Felsted grammar school, Essex, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1648. He matriculated on 27 February 1651, graduated BA on 16 March 1652 and MA on 1 June 1654, and was then chosen as catechist.

After leaving Oxford, Vincent became chaplain to Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester. He was incorporated at the University of Cambridge in 1656. The Dictionary of National Biography described Vincent's plague account as "graphic".

Selected works