an English priest who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Oates was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and other schools. At Cambridge University, he entered Gonville and Caius College in 1667 but transferred to St John's College in 1669; he left later the same year without a degree. A less than astute student, he was regarded by his tutor as "a great dunce", although he did have a good memory. At Cambridge, he also gained a reputation for homosexuality and a "Canting Fanatical way".
