George Richards (priest)

George Richards (1767-1837) was an English cleric, poet, and academic. He was born in Cardington, Bedfordshire, the son of the Rev. James Richards. He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where he was a Fellow from 1790 to 1811. He served as Bampton Lecturer at Oxford in 1800.

Richards held several ecclesiastical positions throughout his career, including Vicar of Bampton, Oxfordshire (from 1800) and Rector of Lillingstone Lovell, Buckinghamshire. He was later Prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral.

He is known for his poetry, which includes Songs of the Aboriginal Bards (1792), The Divine Economy of the Jews (1800), and Poems (1804). His Bampton Lectures were published as The Divine Origin of Prophecy Illustrated and Defended (1800). His writings reflect his classical education and his commitment to Christian doctrine.

Richards died in 1837 and is remembered for his contributions to both religious and literary life in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was a prominent figure in the intellectual and religious circles of his time, contributing to theological debates and producing works of poetry and prose that reflect the intellectual climate of the period.