William Tyndale (1494-1536) was the first man to overset the Holy Book into English from its former Greekish and Hebreish writings.
Tyndale's freethinking goal, as he told one chiding holyman, was straightforwardly this: "I will make the boy that driveth the plough shall know more of Holy Writ than thou doest." Not only did his undertakings bring about this goal indeed, but, through his putting forth of Saxish readings, he gave us the straightforward English wording as well. Threatening as he did the might of the Holy body in England (at the time, ownership of an English oversetting of Holy Book readings was a sinful misdeed), Tyndale was doomed to death for his deeds. And yet, only months later, King Henry VIII warranted the first Holy Book wholly offset in English, which owes more than 80 hundredths of its wording to Tyndale.