Davidson, Randall Thomas, 1848-1930

Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, was born on April 7, 1848, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

He was an Anglican clergyman. He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Oxford. He was ordained priest in 1875 and became chaplain and secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury (1876-1883). He rose through church hierarchy, becoming Dean of Windsor and domestic chaplain to Queen Victoria (1883–1891), Clerk of the Closet to the Sovereign (1891–1903), Bishop of Rochester (1891–1895), and Bishop of Winchester (1895–1903). From 1903 to 1928, Davidson was Archbishop of Canterbury, the longest-serving holder of the office since the Reformation, and the first to retire from it. Under his leadership, the Church gained some independence from state control, but his efforts to modernize the Book of Common Prayer were defeated by Parliament. His honours included a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1902, a Privy Counsellor in 1903, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1904. In 1928, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Davidson of Lambeth, of Lambeth in the County of London.

In 1878, he married Edith Murdoch Tait, Baroness of Starrs House, the Precincts Canterbury (1858–1936). He died on May 25, 1930, in London, England.