George Edward Lynch Cotton | |
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Bishop of Calcutta | |
Bishop Cotton
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Church | Church of England |
See | Calcutta |
In office | 1858–1866 |
Personal details | |
Born |
Chester, England |
29 October 1813
Died | 6 October 1866 Kushtia, India |
(aged 52)
George Edward Lynch Cotton or Bishop Cotton (29 October 1813 – 6 October 1866) was an English educator and clergyman, known for his connections with British India and the public school system.
He was born at Chester, a grandson of the late George Cotton, Dean of Chester. He received his education at The King's School, Chester,Westminster School, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Here he joined the Low Church party, and was a close friend of several disciples of Thomas Arnold, including CJ Vaughan and WJ Conybeare. Arnold's influence determined the character and course of Cotton's life.
He graduated BA in 1836, and became an assistant master at Rugby School. He became master of the fifth form in about 1840. In 1852 he accepted the appointment of headmaster at Marlborough College. Both Rugby School and Marlborough College boarding houses were subsequently named after him.
In 1858 Cotton was offered the office of the Bishop of Calcutta, which, after much hesitation, he accepted. The government of India had just been transferred from the British East India Company to the crown, and questions of education were eagerly discussed, following Macaulay's famous Minute on Indian Education.