Puritan theologian during the reign of Queen Elizabeth most well-known for his advocay of presbyterianism and criticism of the herarchy and constitution of the Church of England, and as a result, for his clash with the controversial Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift.
Cartwright studied divinity at Cambridge but was forced to flee the country when Mary I ascended to the throne in 1553. With Mary's death and Elizabeth's accession five years later, he returned to continue his studies. He was made fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and eventually appointed Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity. His open advocacy of presbyterianism, however, brought him into open conflict with Archbishop Whitgift and he was deprived of his chair at the university. Thereupon he left for continental Europe, visiting with Beza and working as a pastor with the Huguenots. Upon his return he was imprisoned twice, once for returning without permission. He did in Warwick in 1603, early in the reign of James I.
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