Laurence Claxton

Laurence Claxton (born 1615, Preston, Lancashire, Eng.—died 1667, London) was a preacher and pamphleteer, leader of the radical English religious sect known as the Ranters. Originally a tailor by trade, Claxton sampled many Protestant denominations before joining the Baptists in 1644. His first tracts, The Pilgrimage of Saints and Truth Released, appeared in 1646. He first came into contact with the Ranters in 1649 in London and quickly adopted their tenets, including the extreme beliefs...