Henry Wace

1836-1924. Dean of Canterbury. Born in London and educated at Rugby and Oxford, he was ordained in 1861 and for seven years from 1863 was curate of St. James's, Piccadilly, during which time he began regular contributions to The Times. He held a variety of other ecclesiastical positions in London (1872-1903), some of which overlapped: chaplain and preacher of Lincoln's Inn; professor of ecclesiastical history and principal, King's College; rector of St. Michael's, Cornhill; royal chaplain. In 1903 he was appointed dean of Canterbury, which post he held until his death. A strong exponent of Reformation principles, he never hesitated to make his views known in the church's assemblies. Himself a man of versatile scholarship, he rejected the claims of higher criticism. He wrote several books, including The Gospel and Its Witnesses (1883) and The Bible and Modern Investigations, but he is best known for his collaboration with William Smith in the Dictionary of Christian Biography (4 vols., 1880- 86), and with Philip Schaff in the second series of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (14 vols., 1890-1900).