Cosmo Gordon Lang (18641945) was a prelate of the Church of England who served

as Archbishop of York (19081928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (19281942). He was a

parish priest in Leeds and Portsmouth, and a suffragan Bishop of Stepney, before his
surprise appointment as Archbishop of York. A controversial speech in the House of
Lords in 1908, against the Lords' proposal to reject David Lloyd George's 1909 "People's
Budget", marked him as a radical, although he soon discarded this reputation. After
the First World War he promoted church unity, and supported the failed attempt to revise
the Book of Common Prayer. As Archbishop of Canterbury during the 1930s Lang
condemned European fascism and anti-semitism. However, he later supported
the appeasement policies of the British government, as necessary for the preservation of
world peace. During the abdication crisis of 1936, he took a strong moral stance, his
public comments being widely condemned as uncharitable towards the ex-king. After
retiring in 1942 Lang considered himself a failure, believing he had achieved little. Others
have praised his qualities of industry, efficiency, and commitment to his calling.
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