Henry Compton

Henry Compton (1632 – 7 July 1713) was an English bishop. He was the sixth and youngest son of the second earl of Northampton. He was educated at The Queen's College, Oxford, and then travelled in Europe. After the restoration of Charles II he became cornet in a regiment of horse, but soon quit the army for the church. After a further period of study at Cambridge and again at Oxford, he held various livings. He was made Bishop of Oxford in 1674, ... more

Henry Compton (1632 – 7 July 1713) was an English bishop. He was the sixth and youngest son of the second earl of Northampton. He was educated at The Queen's College, Oxford, and then travelled in Europe. After the restoration of Charles II he became cornet in a regiment of horse, but soon quit the army for the church. After a further period of study at Cambridge and again at Oxford, he held various livings. He was made Bishop of Oxford in 1674, and in the following year was translated to the see of London. He was also appointed a member of the Privy Council, and entrusted with the education of the two princesses—Mary and Anne. He showed a liberality most unusual at the time to Protestant dissenters, whom he wished to reunite with the established church. He held several conferences on the subject with the clergy of his diocese; and in the hope of influencing candid minds by means of the opinions of unbiassed foreigners, he obtained letters treating of the question (since printed at... less