1624-1691. English founder of the Society of
Friends. After developing his belief in a
mystical `inner light', he became a
travelling preacher 1647, and in 1650 was
imprisoned for blasphemy at Derby, where the
name Quakers was first applied derogatorily
to him and his followers, supposedly because
he enjoined Judge Bennet to `quake at the
word of the Lord'. He suffered further
imprisonments, made a missionary journey to
America in 1671-72, and wrote many
evangelical and meditative works, including a
Journal, published 1694.