Samuel Wilberforce

Samuel Wilberforce

Samuel Wilberforce , 1805–73, English prelate; son of William Wilberforce. In 1845 he became bishop of Oxford. He did not support the Oxford movement ; instead, he attempted to hold a middle course between the High Church and Low Church factions. As a signer of the remonstrance against the appointment of R. D. Hampden to the bishopric of Hereford and as a participant in other controversies, he was at times an unpopular figure, sometimes referred to by his detractors as "Soapy Sam." A man of oratorical powers and of marked administrative ability, Bishop Wilberforce greatly improved the organization of his diocese and was instrumental in restoring to the English church convocations some of their earlier ecclesiastical authority. In 1869 he was made bishop of Winchester. With his brother Robert he wrote a biography (1838) of his father; his work includes History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America (1844).

Bibliography: See biographies by A. R. Ashwell and R. G. Wilberforce (3 vol., 1879) and S. Meacham (1970).

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Samuel Wilberforce." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Samuel Wilberforce." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WilberfS.html

"Samuel Wilberforce." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WilberfS.html

Learn more about citation styles

Wilberforce, Samuel

Wilberforce, Samuel (1805–73), Bp. of Oxford (1845–69) and then of Winchester. A son of W. Wilberforce, he encouraged the building of churches and the formation of Anglican sisterhoods, and he founded Cuddesdon Theological College (1854). His effective methods of pastoral administration were widely imitated. He promoted legislation to provide synodical structures for the colonial Church and to enable the appointment of missionary bishops. At Winchester he initiated the revision of the AV.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Wilberforce, Samuel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Wilberforce, Samuel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-WilberforceSamuel.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Wilberforce, Samuel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-WilberforceSamuel.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

The movie Amazing Grace, relating the struggle of William Wilberforce's...
Magazine article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life; 5/1/2007
Wilberforce has been lionised as the man who outlawed slavery exactly 200...
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 3/23/2007
Of Apes and Ancestors: Evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford Debate.(Book...
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 12/22/2010

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

See more pictures of Wilberforce, Samuel