Anthony Gate was an Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 academic and administrator. He was Fellow and Master

Master (college)

A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...

 of University College, Oxford

University College, Oxford

.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...

.

At Oxford University, Gate took his MA degree in 1572 and his B.Med. (his highest degree, in medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

) in 1580. He was the first layman

Layman

A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....

 to be elected Master of University College. He took office on 15 September 1584, after William James resigned to become Dean

Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 of Christ Church

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

. There would not be another layman as Master of the College until Reginald Walter Macan

Reginald Walter Macan

Reginald Walter Macan D.Litt. was a classical scholar. He was a Fellow and then, from March 1906, Master of University College, Oxford. He was only the second layman Master of the College after Anthony Gate, Master from 1584–1597....

in 1906, so this was an unusual choice for the time.

Gate was married to Judith. They lived in the Lodgings and his four sons (Peter, Nathaniel, Timothy, and Thomas) all attended University College for their education.