Michael Alford

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Michael Alford (1587-11 August 1652) was an English Jesuit missionary. He left two major works, "Britannia Illustrata", "Annales Ecclesiastici et Civiles Britannorum" also known as "Annales Ecclesiae Britannicae"

Michael Alford was born in London in 1587. He became a Jesuit missionary and was assigned duties in Europe while still a student at Seville and Louvain. Subsequently he was assigned to be a minister to British sailors in Naples, and later as rector at the Jesuit college in Ghent.

Late in 1628 or perhaps the subsequent year, he was sent to the English mission. Upon landing at Dover he was mistakenly arrested on suspicion of being Dr Richard Smith, bishop of Chalcedon for whose apprehension, the government had offered a reward. His captors conveyed him to London, "but as his person in no respect corresponded with the description of the bishop, he was restored to liberty".

The county of Leicester became the chief district of Father Alford's missionary labours. In 1636 he was appointed rector of the "Residence" of St Anne, comprising the county of Leicester. He resided at Holt, where he employed his leisure in composing his learned works.

In order to put the finishing stroke to his "Annales Ecclesiae Britannicae" he obtained leave to retire to the College of St Omer in the spring of 1652, and while there he was attacked by a fever, from which he died on 11 Aug. in the same year' (DNB).