Jan Gruter (or Gruytere; Latinized Janus Gruterus) (December 3, 1560 - September 20, 1627), a critic and scholar of Dutch parentage by his father's side and English by his mother's, was born at Antwerp.

To avoid religious persecution his parents while be was still young came to England; and for some years he pursued his studies at Cambridge, after which he went to Leiden, where he graduated with an M.A.

In 1586 he was appointed professor of history at Wittenberg, but as he refused to subscribe the formula concordiae he was unable to retain his office. From 1589 to 1592 he taught at Rostock, after which he went to Heidelberg, where in 1602 he was appointed librarian to the university.

Gruter's chief works were his Inscriptiones antiquae totius orbis Romani (2 vols., Heidelberg, 1603), and Lampas, sive fax artium liberalium (7 vols., Frankfort, 1602-1634).

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