Short answers, pulled from the story.
John Lingard (the 5th of February 1771 - the 17th of July 1851) was an English Catholic priest and historian, best known as the author of The History of England. He was the first British historian to make extensive use of Vatican archives, French, Italian, Spanish, and English state papers as primary sources, making his History a groundbreaking work in historical method.
The History of England was a major scholarly work tracing English history from the first Roman invasion, with its principal aim being to emphasize the disastrous effects of the Reformation. It was eventually expanded to a thirteen-volume set covering events up to the commencement of the reign of William the Third, and was completed in 1849.
Lingard deliberately omitted any indication of his priesthood from the title pages of his works, as he believed that appearing impartial was essential to being read by Protestants. In a letter dated the 18th of December 1819, he wrote that his only chance of being read by Protestants depended on having the reputation of a temperate writer.
There is strong evidence that Pope Leo XII made Lingard a cardinal in pectore, meaning "in the breast," in 1826. This designation meant the Pope could announce the appointment publicly at a future time, but never did. Leo XII also presented Lingard with a gold medal generally reserved for cardinals and princes when he visited Rome in 1825.
John Lingard authored Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star, a Catholic hymn to the Virgin Mary loosely based on the medieval Latin plainchant Ave maris stella. J. Vincent Higginson described it as one of the oldest English vernacular hymns commonly found in Catholic hymnals.
Lingard translated the Four Gospels from early Greek manuscripts rather than the Latin Vulgate, which was the standard Catholic basis for translation. This resulted in renderings such as "repent" rather than "do penance" at Matthew 3:2. He published the translation anonymously in 1836, attributed only to "a Catholic," and republished it under his own name in 1851.