William King (archbishop)

Infobox bishopbiog
name = William King


religion = Church of Ireland
See = Archdiocese of Dublin
Title = Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of Ireland
Period = 1703 — 1729
Predecessor = Narcissus Marsh
Successor = John Hoadly
ordination = 1679
bishops = Bishop of Derry
post = Bishop
date of birth = May 1650
place of birth = County Antrim
date of death = May 1729
place of death = Anglican Portal

William King, D.D. (1650-1729) was an Anglican divine in the Church of Ireland, who was Archbishop of Dublin from 1703 to 1729. He was an author and supported the Glorious Revolution.

Life

William was born in May of 1650 in County Antrim and was educated at Trinity College at Dublin. He was ordained in 1679. His support of the Glorious Revolution in 1688 served to advance his position. He became Bishop of Derry in 1691. As a man of letters he wrote "The State of the Protestants in Ireland under King James's Government" in 1691 and "De Origine Mali" in 1702. He was advanced to the position of Archbishop of Dublin in 1703, a post he would hold until his death. He gave £1,000 for the founding of "Archbishop King's Professorship of Divinity" at Trinity College in 1718, and the post still carries his name. Much of his correspondence survives and provides a historic resource for the study of the Ireland of his time. He died in May of 1729.

King's years as a bishop were marked by reforming zeal, by great activity in the building of churches and glebe houses, and by the dispensing of extensive and wise charity.

He played an important role in the incident surrounding the production of Wood's Halfpence, and was involved in asking Jonathan Swift to write the "Drapier's Letters", which contributed to the protection of the rights of Ireland.

Further reading

* C. S. King, ed. "A great Archbishop of Dublin, William King, D.D., 1650-1729: His autobiography, family, and a selection from his correspondence."; 1906, Longman,Green.
* Philip O'Regan; "Archbishop William King, 1650-1729 and the Constitution in Church and State"; 2000, Four Courts Press, ISBN 1-85182-464-2.
* Robert S. Matteson, "A large private park: the collection of Archbishop William King 1650–1729". Cambridge: LP Publications, 2003. (Libri Pertinentes, no. 7) 2 vols ISBN 0-9518811-6-7; co-published with Tempe (Arizona): Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2003. ISBN 0-86698-304-X
* Fauske, Christopher, ed. "Archbishop William King and the Anglican Irish Context, 1688-1729"; 2004, Four Courts Press, ISBN-10|1-85182-681-5.

Persondata
NAME = King, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Irish Anglican Archbishop
DATE OF BIRTH = May, 1650
PLACE OF BIRTH = County Antrim, Ireland
DATE OF DEATH = May, 1729
PLACE OF DEATH =