Early Life
In 1555, William's strongly Protestant family went into exile in Geneva, Switzerland. They were there for nearly two years and were associates with John Calvin who was godfather to William's brother. Following the death of his father, the remaining family moved to Basel, where they lived next door to John Knox. They returned to Waltham, Essex in 1559.
William was educated at Winchester College, where he was admitted in 1564, and New College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1571. In 1573 he was elected a fellow of New College, but two years later he was deprived of his fellowship for being away without leave. He came to London, where his mother was in attendance on Queen Elizabeth.
Read more about this topic: William Stafford (conspirator)
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)