Edward Hayes Plumptre was born in London. Preacher and scholar, he wrote the hymn "Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart."
Matthew Parker was born at Norwich, England. In 1527 he was ordained and attracted to the theology of the reformation. During the short reign of Edward VI, he was made dean of Lincoln Cathedral. In this same period, he cultivated the friendship of Martin Bucer, the Strassbourg reformer, who came to Cambridge. When the Catholic queen, Mary, came to the throne in 1553, the Protestant Parker lost all his academic and ecclesiastical positions and lived in obscurity. However, with the death of Mary and crowning of Elizabeth, Parker rose to prominence. Elizabeth made him archbishop of Canterbury. He had a major part in the publication of the Bishops' Bible, but also served as Elizabeth's tool to repress religious dissent.
Francois Fenelon was born at Perigord, France. Educated by the Jesuits, he spent several years trying to convert Huguenots. His depth of thought and educational ideas led to his eventual promotion as archbishop of Cambrai, but his reform ideals and association with Madam Guyon led to disfavor at court. The French Catholic hierarchy attempted to condemn him. Fenelon displayed a winning mixture of authoritarianism and practical humanitarianism. His writings on Christian perfection have inspired Protestant and Catholic alike.
Alfred Lord Tennyson was born in Lincolnshire, England. The fourth son of an Anglican rector, he exhibited spiritual sympathies in his poems, especially "In Memoriam," in which he looks for the resurrection. Asked what Jesus meant to him, he replied, "What the sun is to the flower, Jesus Christ is to my soul." He became poet-laureate of England.
