John Atherton (1598 – 5 December 1640) was the Anglican Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in the Church of Ireland. He and John Childe (his steward and tithe proctor) were both tried and executed for buggery in 1640. Life and death Early life and education Atherton was born in 1598 in Somerset, England. His father, also named John was a parson and Rector of Bawdrip. He studied at Oxford University and joined the ranks of the Anglican clergy, serving as Rector of Huish Champflower. Career in the Anglican clergy In 1630, he became prebendary of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Dublin, in addition, Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Killaloe. In 1634, chancellor of Christ Church Cathedral and rector of Killaban and Ballintubride in 1635. In 1636, under the patronage of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, he became Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in the Church of Ireland under the protests of the Roman Catholic majority in his see. After the Buggery Act 1533 was found in 1631, during the Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven case, to not apply to Ireland, Atherton pushed for the enactment of "An Act for the Punishment for the Vice Of Buggery" in 1634. Downfall In 1640 Atherton was accused of buggery with a man, John Childe, his steward and tithe proctor. Even though his fellow clerics attempted to prevent his trial to save the reputation of his Church, they were the first to have been tried under the law that Atherton himself had helped to institute. They were found guilty and both condemned to death, to the applause of the crowd, with Atherton being nearly lynched on his way to prison at Cork. Nicholas Bernard, Dean of Elphin and Ardagh, acted as his spiritual counselor and wrote an account of Atherton’s final days. Atherton was executed by hanging in Stephen's Green, Dublin, after reading the morning service for his cellmates. Reportedly, he confessed about the crime to the priest ministering him immediately before his execution, although he had proclaimed his innocence before that and kept doing so during the execution. Legacy Character assassination and conspiracy Since 1710, some historical evidence has been developed that shows Atherton might have been a victim of a conspiracy to discredit him and his patrons. This was attributable to Atherton's status as an astute lawyer, who sought to recover