Francis Leighton (priest)

Francis Knyvett Leighton (1806 – 13 October 1881) was an English academic and priest, who was Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, from 1858 until his death.[1]

Life

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Leighton was educated at the University of Oxford, matriculating as a member of Trinity College on 24 June 1823 at the age of 16.[2] He was a demy (scholar) at Magdalen College from 1823 to 1829, obtaining a second-class BA degree in 1828, and winning a prize for Latin verse in 1826.[2][3] He was elected to a Fellowship at All Souls College in 1829, which he held until 1843. He was ordained as a priest in the Church of England and served as Rector of Cardeston, Shropshire, and then as vicar of St Chad's, Shrewsbury, and rector of Harpsden, Oxfordshire. He was elected Warden of All Souls in 1858, holding the position until his death on 13 October 1881;[1] as Warden, he was also rector of Lockinge in Oxfordshire.[2] He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1866 to 1870[4] (a post in which he was "distinguished by his courtesy and hospitality",[3] according to his obituary in The Times), and a residentiary canon of Westminster Abbey from 1868 onwards.[2] He died in the Warden's Lodgings at the college, aged 75, after a "long and lingering illness".[3] He was described as being "distinguished by an amiable and refined, but genial courtesy".[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Salter, H. E.; Lobel, Mary D., eds. (1954). "All Souls College". A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford. Victoria County History. pp. 173–193. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Leighton, Francis Knyvett" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ a b c d "Obituary". The Times. 14 October 1881. p. 4.
  4. ^ "Previous Vice-Chancellors". University of Oxford, UK. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
Academic offices
Preceded by Warden of All Souls College, Oxford
1858–1881
Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University
1866–1870
Succeeded by