ODNB; AO (Foster)
Alexander Nowell received his B.A. from Brasenose College, Oxford in 1536, M.A. in 1540, and D.Th in 1545. He was appointed master of Westminster School in 1543 and canon of Westminster in 1551. Granted preaching license by Edward IV's government in 1547, Nowell was forced into exile upon Mary's ascension after having been deprived of his prebend in 1554; he spent a brief time in Strasbourg before settling with other exiles in Frankfurt am Main in 1556. Nowell returned to England under Elizabeth and was shown considerable favour: in 1560 he was collated to the rectory of Saltwood (Kent), archdeaconry of Middlesex, and canonry Canterbury; later that year he was appointed a prebendary of Canterbury and made dean of St. Paul's Cathedral. Nowell was an active preacher at St. Paul's Cross and at court, and is remembered for drafting catechisms in several languages which became standard texts. Having no heirs, he was a generous donor to educational establishments. Nowell died on 13 February 1602 and was buried in St. Mary's Chapel.