He was born and died in
London. Little is known about his life. He published some of the earliest dictionaries and grammars of the
Spanish language for speakers of English. His major work was the Ductor in linguas (Guide into tongues), an eleven-language dictionary.[1] With his Ductor in linguas he is also one of the first known inventors of the use of
subscription as a method of funding publication of a book.[2]
Dictionarie in Spanish and English (1599 & 1623), an augmented version of Bibliotheca Hispanica (1591) by Richard Percyvall (1993 reprint:
ISBN3-89131-066-8)
Ductor in linguas (The Guide into Tongues) (1617)
including Vocabularium Hispanicolatinum et Anglicum copiossissimum (A Most Copious Spanish Dictionarie with Latine and English)
Pleasant and Delightfull Dialogues in Spanish and English (1623)
^Franklin B. Williams jr., "Scholarly publication in Shakespeare's Day: A leading case" pp. 755-773 in: James G. MacManaway et al. (eds.), Joseph Quincy Adams: Memorial Studies, Washington D.C., 1948.