James Ussher

J AMES USSHER was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1581. As a young man, he resolved to devote himself wholly to the work of the Church, and the Lord honored him in his resolve. Ussher entered Trinity College at thirteen, wrote a detailed work on Hebrew chronology in Latin at fifteen and graduated with a B.A. at sixteen. At eighteen he received his master's degree and was appointed proctor of the college. At twenty he was ordained a deacon and priest in the Anglican Church at Dublin. At twenty-six...See more

J AMES USSHER was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1581. As a young man, he resolved to devote himself wholly to the work of the Church, and the Lord honored him in his resolve. Ussher entered Trinity College at thirteen, wrote a detailed work on Hebrew chronology in Latin at fifteen and graduated with a B.A. at sixteen. At eighteen he received his master's degree and was appointed proctor of the college. At twenty he was ordained a deacon and priest in the Anglican Church at Dublin. At twenty-six he received a Doctor of Divinity and shortly after that he became Professor of Divinity at Dublin, an honor accorded to very few who were that young. He was a professor from 1607 to 1621, and was twice appointed vice-chancellor of Trinity College in Dublin. In 1625, he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh, which was the highest position in the Irish Anglican Church. An expert in Semitic languages, he argued for the reliability of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and wrote widely on Christianity in Asia, and other biblically related topics. In 1628, King James appointed him to his Privy Council in Ireland. When Ussher died, Oliver Cromwell held a magnificent state funeral for him and had him buried in Westminster Abbey. Cromwell took pains to make sure the writings and library of Ussher were preserved. See less