Oates, Titus

Oates, Titus (1649-1705), English conspirator, the principal informer in the so-called Popish Plot in England, born in Oakham, and educated at the University of Cambridge. Taking advantage of the public's hostility towards Roman Catholics, in 1678 Oates gave the authorities details of a fictitious plot by Roman Catholics to murder the Protestant monarch Charles II. Oates swore that the plan was to replace Charles with his Roman Catholic brother, James, Duke of York.

As a result of the perjured testimony of Oates and his followers, about 35 people lost their lives between 1678 and 1681, while Oates himself for a time received a large pension and lived in Whitehall Palace. A reaction set in against Oates and in 1684 he was imprisoned. In 1685, with the accession of the Duke of York as James II, Oates was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to life imprisonment. After James was deposed by the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Oates was freed by the new king, William III.