Tenison, Thomas

Tenison, Thomas (tĕn`ĭsən), 1636–1715, English churchman, archbishop of Canterbury (1695–1715). In 1680 he became rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London; there he came into prominence as a preacher and as an author, and he founded a free library. He was consecrated bishop of Lincoln in 1691 and was named archbishop of Canterbury in 1695. He administered to both William and Mary at their deathbeds but was not popular with Queen Anne. He had Low Church views and supported the Hanoverian succession. He was a founder (1701) of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and wrote books on Thomas Hobbes (1670) and Francis Bacon (1679).