John Potter

c.1674-1747. Archbishop of Canterbury from 1737. Educated at University College, Oxford, he was elected a fellow of Lincoln College in 1694 and regius professor of divinity at Oxford in 1707. As a High Church Whig he was a safe appointment to the bishopric of Oxford in 1715, hut his translation to Canterbury in 1737 was particularly unexpected, since Edmund Gibson, bishop of London and another High Church Whig, was the more popular candidate. Potter was an opponent of the Low Church party, particularly of Bishop Hoadly,* but his Whig political views ensured his good favor with the government. Among his works were A Discourse on Church Government (1707); Archaeologica Graeca (2 vols., 1697-99); and an edition of the works of Clement of Alexandria (1715).