William Ralph Inge

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William Ralph Inge

Born June 6, 1860 in Crayke, Yorkshire, England
Died February 26, 1954 in Wallingford, England
Church Church of England
Education Eton College and King's College, Cambridge
Writings over 35 books
Title Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral
Spouse Mary Catharine Inge
Anglicanism Portal


William Ralph Inge (pronounced /ˈɪŋ/ "ing";[1] June 6, 1860 – February 26, 1954) was an English author, Anglican priest, and professor of divinity at Cambridge. He was nicknamed The Gloomy Dean.

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[edit] Life

He was born at Crayke, Yorkshire, England. His father was William Inge (a provost at Worcester College, Oxford) and his mother Susanna (Churton) Inge. His mother's father was the archdeacon of Cleveland. Inge was educated at Eton College, where he was a King's Scholar and Newcastle Scholar, and at King's College, Cambridge, where he won a number of prizes as well as taking firsts in both parts of the classical tripos. He was a tutor at Hertford College, Oxford starting in 1888, which was the year he was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England.

In 1907, he became a professor of divinity at Jesus College, Cambridge, holding the Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity chair. In 1911, was chosen by Prime Minister Asquith to be the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. He served as president of the Aristotelian Society at Cambridge from 1920 to 1921. Inge then became a columnist for the Evening Standard, a position he would hold until 1946 - a period of 25 years. Ing was also a trustee of London's National Portrait Gallery from 1921 until 1951. He had retired from the Church in 1934. Inge's wife, Mary Catharine Inge, was the daughter of Henry Maxwell Spooner. She died in 1949.[2] Inge spent his later life in Brightwell near Wallingford, where he died on February 26, 1954.

[edit] Legacy

Inge was a prolific author. In addition to scores of articles, lectures and sermons, he also wrote over 35 books.[3] He is best known for his works on Plotinus and neoplatonic philosophy, and on Christian mysticism. He was a strong proponent of a spiritual type of religion--"that autonomous faith which rests upon experience and individual inspiration"--as opposed to one of coersive authority; so he was outspoken in his criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church. His thought, on the whole, represents a blending of traditional Christian theology with elements of Platonic philosophy. He shares this much in common with one of his favorite writers, Benjamin Whichcote, the first of the Cambridge Platonists.

He was nicknamed The Gloomy Dean because of his pessimistic views in his Evening Standard articles and he is remembered as a supporter of animal rights.

[edit] Bibliography

The following bibliography is a selection taken from Adam Fox's biography Dean Inge.

[edit] See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

[edit] Resources

Fox, Adam. Dean Inge.

Helm, Robert. The Gloomy Dean.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Inge
  2. ^ See Portraits of Mary Catharine Inge.
  3. ^ Gifford Biography

[edit] External links

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