John Stow

John Stow (about 1525–1605) was an English historian and antiquary, a London tailor by trade who gave his life and his means to collecting manuscripts and chronicles. He edited Chaucer in 1561, published A Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles in 1565 and the Annales of England, and worked with Archbishop Parker on medieval histories. His Survey of London, published in 1598 and enlarged in 1603, describes the Elizabethan city ward by ward from direct observation and remains the foundation of its history. Impoverished in old age, he was granted letters patent by James I to beg for his support. His monument stands in St. Andrew Undershaft.