Davidson, Randall Thomas (1848–1930)

Scottish Anglican cleric, archbishop of Canterbury 1903–28. His firm diplomacy steered the Anglican communion through a bitter conflict between the Low Church and Anglo-Catholic extremists, successfully avoiding a split. He piloted the Enabling and Constitution Act through the House of Lords, under which the Church Assembly and its subordinate councils were set up in 1919.

Ordained in 1874, Davidson first served as domestic chaplain to Archbishop Archibald Tait. In 1882 he was made dean of Windsor and domestic chaplain to Queen Victoria. He became bishop of Rochester in 1891 and bishop of Winchester in 1895.

As archbishop of Canterbury he established important committees to deal with intellectual problems, worship, social questions, and church organizations. As a result of these and similar activities, the ‘Life and Liberty’ movement came into existence as a focus for younger people of all schools of thought. He presided over the Lambeth Conference of 1920. However, his last years brought severe disappointments; his long efforts to settle the difficult religious problem in elementary education were nullified by ecclesiastical factions. A still greater disappointment came with the rejection by the House of Commons of the 1927 and 1928 Prayer Book measures. Soon after the second rejection in 1928 he resigned and received a barony.