William Tooke

In 1771 Tooke obtained letters of ordination as deacon and priest from Richard Terrick as bishop of London; and received from John Duncombe the offer of the living of West Thurrock, Essex, in the same year.

In this position he made the acquaintance of many members of the Russian nobility and episcopate, and also of the numerous men of letters and scientists of all nationalities whom Catherine II summoned to her court.

He was a regular attendant at the annual diner de tolérance which the empress gave to the clergy of all denominations, and at which Gabriel, the metropolitan of Russia, used to preside.

While chaplain at St. Petersburg Tooke made frequent visits to Poland and Germany, some details of which are printed from his letters in John Nichols's Literary Anecdotes.

In 1814 Tooke served as chaplain to the lord mayor of London, Sir William Domville, and preached in that capacity several sermons, which were published separately.

Diderot, on Sculpture in General, and Particularly on the Celebrated Statue of Peter the Great, ... translated from the French by William Tooke, with several additions (London: W. Bowyer and J. Nichols).

It was followed in 1799 by A View of the Russian Empire during the Reign of Catharine II and to the close of the present Century (3 vols); a second edition appeared in 1800, and was translated into French in six volumes (Paris, 1801).

He contributed largely to the Monthly Review and the Gentleman's Magazine, and is credited with the authorship of the memoir of Sir Hans Sloane, written in French, and extant (British Library Add MS 30066 (Cat.