James Ussher


James Ussher
Archbishop of Armagh
Primate of All Ireland
ChurchChurch of Ireland
SeeArmagh
Appointed21 March 1625
In office1625–1656
PredecessorChristopher Hampton
SuccessorJohn Bramhall (from 1661)
Other post(s)Professor, Trinity College Dublin
Chancellor, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Prebend of Finglas.
Previous post(s)Bishop of Meath (1621–1625)
Orders
Ordination1602
Consecration2 December 1621
by Christopher Hampton
Personal details
Born4 January 1581
Dublin, Ireland
Died21 March 1656(1656-03-21) (aged 75)
Reigate, Surrey, England
BuriedChapel of St Erasmus, Westminster Abbey
NationalityIrish
DenominationAnglican
Alma materTrinity College, Dublin (B.A., M.A., B.D., D.D.)
Coat of armsJames Ussher's coat of arms

James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his identification of the genuine letters of the church father, Ignatius of Antioch, and for his chronology that sought to establish the time and date of the creation as "the entrance of the night preceding the 23rd day of October... the year before Christ 4004"; that is, around 6 pm on 22 October 4004 BC, per the proleptic Julian calendar.