Humphrey Prideaux (1648 - 1724), divine and scholar, belonged to an ancient Cornish family, was born at Padstow, and educated at Westminster School and at Oxford.

He first attracted notice by his description of the Arundel Marbles (1676), which gained for him powerful patrons, and he rose to be Dean of Norwich . Among his other works are a Life of Mahomet (1697), and The Old and New Testament connected in the History of the Jews and Neighbouring Nations (1715-17), long an important work, of which many editions were brought out.