PEACOCK, THOMAS LOVE (1785-1866).—­Novelist, b. at Weymouth, the only child of a London merchant, was in boyhood at various schools, but from the age of 13 self-educated.  Nevertheless, he became a really learned scholar.  He was for long in the India Office, where he rose to be Chief Examiner, coming between James Mill and John Stuart Mill.  He was the author of several somewhat whimsical, but quite unique novels, full of paradox, prejudice, and curious learning, with witty dialogue and occasional poems interspersed.  Among them are Headlong Hall (1816), Nightmare Abbey (1818), Maid Marian (1822), Misfortunes of Elphin (1829), Crotchet Castle (1831), and Gryll Grange (1860).  He was the intimate friend of Shelley, memoirs of whom he contributed to Fraser’s Magazine.

PEARSON, CHARLES HENRY (1830-1894).—­B. at Islington, ed. at Rugby and King’s Coll., London, at the latter he became Prof. of Modern History.  Owing to a threatened failure of sight he went to Australia, where he remained for 20 years, and was for a time Minister of Education of Victoria.  Returning to England in 1892 he wrote his National Life and Character:  a Forecast, in which he gave utterance to very pessimistic views as to the future of the race.  He also wrote a History of England during the Early and Middle Ages (1867).

PEARSON, JOHN (1613-1686).—­Theologian, s. of an archdeacon of Suffolk, b. at Great Snoring, Norfolk, ed. at Eton and Camb., took orders, and after holding various preferments, including the archdeaconry of Surrey, the mastership of Jesus Coll., and of Trinity Coll., Camb., was made, in 1673, Bishop of Chester.  His Exposition of the Creed (1659) has always been regarded as one of the most finished productions of English theology, remarkable alike for logical argument and arrangement, and lucid style.  He was also the author of other learned works, including a defence of the authenticity of the epistles of Ignatius.  In his youth P. was a Royalist, and acted in 1645 as a chaplain in the Royal army.  He was one of the commissioners in the Savoy Conference.

PECOCK, REGINALD (1395?-1460?).—­Theologian, b. in Wales, entered the Church, and rose to be successively Bishop of St. Asaph 1444, and of Chichester 1450.  He was a strenuous controversialist, chiefly against the Lollards; but his free style of argument, and especially his denial of the infallibility of the Church, led him into trouble, and on being offered the choice of abjuration or death at the stake, he chose the former, but nevertheless was deprived of his bishopric, had his books burned, and spent his latter days in the Abbey of Thorney, Cambridgeshire.  His chief work is The Repressor of overmuch blaming of the Clergy (1455), which, from its clear, pointed style, remains a monument of 15th century English. The Book of Faith (1456) is another of his writings.