Sheldon, Gilbert

Related Category: Protestant Christianity: Biographies

1598–1677, English divine, archbishop of Canterbury. He attended Charles I at Oxford and Newmarket and in the Isle of Wight, remaining thereafter in retirement until the Restoration, when he became (1660) bishop of London and later (1663) archbishop of Canterbury. Sheldon was an influential adviser to Charles II. While chancellor of Oxford he built (1699) the Sheldonian Theatre at his own expense.