Thomas Newton

For other people named Thomas Newton, see Thomas Newton (disambiguation).

The Right Reverend                    Thomas Newton
Bishop of Bristol
Diocese	Diocese of Bristol
In office	21 December 1761 (election confirmed)–1782 (died)
Predecessor	Philip Yonge
Successor	Lewis Bagot
Other posts	Canon Precentor of York Minster (Driffield prebend, 16 June 1759–11 February 1761) Canon of Westminster (22 March 1757–1761) Canon of St Paul's (Portpool prebend, 20 November 1761–1782) Dean of St Paul's (8 October 1768–1782)
Personal details
Born	(1704-01-01)1 January 1704 Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
Died	City of London, Great Britain
Buried	St Paul's Cathedral
Nationality	British (prev. English)
Denomination	Anglican
Residence	The Old Deanery, London (at death)
Parents	John Newton & Isabel née Rhodes
Spouse	1. Jane Trebeck (m. 18 August 1747; she died 1754) 2. Elizabeth née Vaughan (m. 5 September 1761; widowed 1782)
Children	none
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Ordination history of Thomas Newton
Diaconal ordination
Ordained by	Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London
Date of ordination	21 December 1729
Priestly ordination
Ordained by	Gibson
Date of ordination	22 February 1730
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator	Bishops of London, Winchester, Salisbury & Rochester
Date of consecration	28 December 1761
Place of consecration	Lambeth Palace chapel
Source(s):

Thomas Newton (1 January 1704 – 14 February 1782) was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782.

Biography

Newton was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was subsequently elected a fellow of Trinity. He was ordained in the Church of England and continued scholarly pursuits. His more remembered works include his annotated edition of Paradise Lost, including a biography of John Milton, published in 1749. In 1754 he published a large scholarly analysis of the prophecies of the Bible, titled Dissertations on the Prophecies. In his 1761 edition of Milton's poetry, he gave the title On His Blindness to Sonnet XIX, When I Consider How My Light is Spent.

Newton was appointed the Bishop of Bristol in 1761 and in 1768 became the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London. He has been considered a Christian universalist.

Titlepage of a 1752-1761 edition of Newton's extensively annotated works of John Milton, particularly Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.

One of Newton's famous quotes concerns the Jewish people:

The preservation of the Jews is really one of the most signal and illustrious acts of divine Providence... and what but a supernatural power could have preserved them in such a manner as none other nation upon earth hath been preserved. Nor is the providence of God less remarkable in the destruction of their enemies, than in their preservation... We see that the great empires, which in their turn subdued and oppressed the people of God, are all come to ruin... And if such hath been the fatal end of the enemies and oppressors of the Jews, let it serve as a warning to all those, who at any time or upon any occasion are for raising a clamor and persecution against them.[1]

Sources

• Nigel Aston, ‘Newton, Thomas (1704–1782)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 26 Aug 2008
• Persons: Newton, Thomas (1729–1782) in "CCEd, the Clergy of the Church of England database" (Accessed online, 31 May 2015)

External links

• Works by or about Thomas Newton in libraries (WorldCat catalog)