born June 16, 1514
died Sept. 13, 1557, London, Eng.
English humanist.
A supporter of the Reformation , he was named professor of Greek at Cambridge University by Henry VIII and knighted by Edward VI. With his friend, the statesman Thomas Smith (1513–77), he ably defended the historical pronunciation of Attic Greek, introduced by Erasmus , in opposition to the post-Classical pronunciation that was then the norm. Cheke was imprisoned briefly on the accession of Mary I; he fled abroad but was captured in the Netherlands in 1556 and confined to the Tower of London. He recanted Protestantism to avoid execution and died the following year, allegedly depressed by his forced abjuration.