Benjamin Heath, D.C.L. (10 April 170413 September 1766) was an English classical scholar and bibliophile. Life He was born at Exeter, the eldest of three sons of Benjamin Heath, a wealthy merchant, and Elizabeth Kelland. He devoted himself mainly to travel and book collecting. He became town clerk of his native city in 1752, and held the office till his death. Works In 1763 the ministry of Lord Bute imposed an excise tax of 4 shillings per hogshead on cider and perry on Britain's cider-producing agricultural counties. In Devon, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire protest meetings were common, and violent attacks occurred against the ministry. In 1763 soon after the enactment of the new tax, Heath published the pamphlet The Case of the County of Devon with respect to the consequences of the new Excise Duty on Cyder and Perry advocating the repeal of the cider tax in Devonshire, and his endeavours led to success three years later. As a classical scholar Heath made his reputation by his critical and metrical notes on the Greek tragedians, which procured him an honorary DCL from Oxford (31 March 1752). He also left manuscript notes on Burmann's and Martyn's editions of Virgil, on Euripides, Catullus, Tibullus, and the greater part of Hesiod. In some of these he adopts the whimsical name Dexiades Ericius. His Revisal of Shakespear's Text (1765) was an answer to what he saw as the dogmatism of William Warburton. The Essay towards a Demonstrative Proof of the Divine Existence, Unity and Attributes (1740) was intended to combat the opinions of Voltaire, Rousseau and Hume. Family In 1732, Heath married Rose Marie (1718–1808), daughter of Geneva merchant John Michelet. Rose Marie bore him seven sons and six daughters. Two of his sons were Benjamin, headmaster of Harrow (1771–1785), and George, headmaster of Eton (1796–1802). His collection of rare classical works formed the nucleus of his son Benjamin's famous library (Bibliotheca Heathiana). Further reading Benjamin S. Heath Labor and finance revolution (1891) Notes a. Benjamin Heath, D.C.L., was the eldest son in lineage of Heaths where the eldest son was typically named "Benjamin Heath", per Drake's Heathiana. This can make it difficult to ascertain which Benjamin Heath is being referred to, leading to confusion and error. Drake's work assists in differentiating between the different Benjamin Heaths by use of initials after their names. So for example, the Benjamin Heath of this article is referred