Archbishop of Canterbury. He served in this position from 1903 until 1928. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland to Scottish Presbyterian parents, his father was a grain merchant. He received his early education in mostly small private schools and later attended the Harrow School in Harrow, London, England and at Trinity College, Oxford, England. In his final year at Trinity, he was involved in a shooting accident that left him with a hernia and he was a lifelong truss wearer, which caused him continuous difficulty as the hernia regularly dropped, especially when he was preaching. After his ordination as a priest, he served as chaplain to Archibald Campbell Tait when Tait was Archbishop of Canterbury and in 1878 he married Tait's daughter, Edith. After Tait's death he remained at Lambeth Palace as chaplain to the succeeding Archbishop of Canterbury, Edward White Benson. A favorite of Queen Victoria, he was appointed Dean of Windsor at a very young age. From 1891 until 1895 he was Bishop of Rochester and then became Bishop of Winchester. He played a major part in the funeral ceremonies for Queen Victoria in 1901, taking care, along with James Reid, of the wake at Osborne House, Isle of Wight. In 1903 he was selected for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury in 1903, following the death of Archbishop Frederick Temple in December 1902. During his tenure, he presided over two Lambeth Conferences and was present at five of the first six. In 1928 he resigned his position as Archbishop. He was the longest holder of the office since the English Reformation and was also the first Archbishop of Canterbury to retire, with all of his predecessors having died in office. He died in London, England at the age of 82 and was buried in the cloister garden at Canterbury Cathedral. His honors include 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. This title became extinct upon his death.