prædecessor

Noun

 * 1) * 1716, John Flamsteed, Letter to Mr. Abraham Sharp; letter 1,421 in The Correspondence of John Flamsteed, the First Astronomer Royal (CRC Press; ISBN 0750307633, 9780750307635) published in 1997 by Eric G Forbes, Murdin Lesley, and Frances Willmoth (editors), page 790:
 * Mr Thomas Smith your prædecessor has been dead about 16 or 17 years he was never concerned with the Army accounts.
 * 1) * 1716, John Flamsteed, Letter to Mr. Abraham Sharp; letter 1,421 in The Correspondence of John Flamsteed, the First Astronomer Royal (CRC Press; ISBN 0750307633, 9780750307635) published in 1997 by Eric G Forbes, Murdin Lesley, and Frances Willmoth (editors), page 790:
 * Mr Thomas Smith your prædecessor has been dead about 16 or 17 years he was never concerned with the Army accounts.