19. William Tyndale translated the Bible into English
William Tyndale was a supporter of the Protestant Reformation and the one of the earliest translators of the Bible from its Greek and Latin texts into English, done at a time when English translations of the Bible were forbidden. The committee which created the King James Bible used Tyndale’s previous translation extensively, about three quarters of the Old Testament and over 80% of the New were based on his work, and largely replicate his translation. Other works by Tyndale helped Henry VIII justify his break with the Church of Rome. Tyndale’s Bible was the first to be printed in English. He was executed for the crime of heresy in 1536.
