John Morton (archbishop)

His Eminence John Morton D.Cn. & CL
Cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of All England
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Appointed	6 October 1486
Term ended	15 September 1500
Predecessor	Thomas Bourchier
Successor	Thomas Langton
Orders
Consecration	31 January 1479
Created Cardinal	20 September 1493
Rank	Cardinal priest of Santa Anastasia
Personal details
Born	c. 1420 Dorset, England
Died	15 September 1500 Knole House, near Sevenoaks, Kent, England
Buried	Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral
Nationality	English
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Previous post	Bishop of Ely, 1479–1486
Education	Balliol College, Oxford
Coat of arms

John Morton (c.1420 – 15 September 1500) was an English prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1486 to 1500. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1493.

Born in Dorset, he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He was made canon of Sarum in 1458, rector of St. Dunstan's (in the West), archdeacon of Norwich circa 1460, archdeacon of Winchester in 1474, canon of Wells from 1475 to 1478, archdeacon of Berkshire in 1476 and archdeacon of Norfolk in 1477. He was appointed Master of the Rolls from 1472 to 1479.

In February 1477, he was sent by the Yorkist King Edward IV, together with Sir John Donne, as ambassador to the French court. After serving a short spell in 1478 as Archdeacon of Leicester he was appointed Bishop of Ely by King Edward on 8 August 1478 and he was consecrated on 31 January 1479. Morton was an important foe of the Yorkist regime of King Richard III and spent some time in captivity in Brecknock castle. After the dynastic change to the Tudors in 1485, King Henry VII made him Archbishop of Canterbury on 6 October 1486, and appointed him Lord Chancellor of England in 1487. In 1493 he was appointed Cardinal priest of the church of St. Anastasia in Rome by Pope Alexander VI. He built the "Old Palace" of Hatfield House where Queen Elizabeth I spent much of her girlhood.