William White (bishop of Pennsylvania)


William White
1st and 4th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
White in 1795 (oil on canvas)
ChurchEpiscopal Church
In office
  • July 28, 1789 – October 3, 1789
  • September 8, 1795 – July 17, 1836
PredecessorNone (1st)
Samuel Provoost (2nd)
SuccessorSamuel Seabury (1st)
Alexander Viets Griswold (2nd)
Other post(s)Bishop of Pennsylvania (1787–1836)
Previous post(s)Bishop of Delaware (1787-1828)
Orders
OrdinationDecember 23, 1770, Chapel Royal (deacon)
April 17, 1772, Chapel Royal (priest)
by Philip Yonge (deacon)
Richard Terrick (priest)
ConsecrationFebruary 4, 1787, Lambeth Palace Chapel
by John Moore (Canterbury) et al.; see #Consecrators
Personal details
Born(1748-04-04)April 4, 1748
DiedJuly 17, 1836(1836-07-17) (aged 88)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
BuriedChrist Church, Philadelphia
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsThomas White & Esther Hewlings Newman
SpouseMary Harrison
Alma materCollege of Philadelphia predecessor to University of Pennsylvania
Sainthood
Feast day17 July
Venerated inEpiscopal Church, Anglican Church in North America
Title as SaintBishop of Pennsylvania and First Presiding Bishop of the Church in the USA
ShrinesChrist Church, Philadelphia
Ordination history of
William White
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained byPhilip Yonge, (Norwich)
Date23 December 1770
PlaceChapel Royal, St James's Palace, London
Priestly ordination
Ordained byRichard Terrick, (London)
Date17 April 1772
PlaceChapel Royal, St James's Palace, London
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorJohn Moore, (Canterbury)
Co-consecrators
Date4 February 1787
PlaceLambeth Palace Chapel, London
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by William White as principal consecrator
Robert Smith13 September 1795
Edward Bass7 May 1797
Abraham Jarvis18 October 1797
Benjamin Moore11 September 1801
Samuel Parker14 September 1804
John Henry Hobart29 May 1811
Alexander Viets Griswold29 May 1811
Theodore Dehon15 October 1812
Richard Channing Moore18 May 1814
James Kemp1 September 1814
John Croes19 November 1815
Nathaniel Bowen8 October 1818
Philander Chase11 February 1819
Thomas Church Brownell27 October 1819
John Stark Ravenscroft22 May 1823
Henry Ustick Onderdonk25 October 1827
William Meade19 August 1829
William Murray Stone21 October 1830
Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk26 November 1830
Levi Silliman Ives22 September 1831
John Henry Hopkins31 October 1832
Benjamin Bosworth Smith31 October 1832
Charles Pettit McIlvaine31 October 1832
George Washington Doane31 October 1832
James Hervey Otey14 January 1834
Jackson Kemper25 September 1835

William White (April 4, 1748 N.S. – July 17, 1836) was the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States (1789; 1795–1836), the first bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania (1787–1836), and the second United States Senate Chaplain (appointed December 9, 1790). He also served as the first and fourth President of the House of Deputies for the General Convention of the Episcopal Church (1785, 1789).