Edward Willes (bishop)
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Edward Willes (priest)
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Edward Willes (6 March 1693 – 24 November 1773) was an
Bishop of St David's and later Bishop of Bath and Wells
and one of the most prominent English cryptanalysts of his time.
Life
He was born in
Mayor of Oxford. They belonged to a junior branch of the long-established Willes family of Newbold Comyn; Sir John Willes, the long-serving Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, was his brother. He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford and graduated with a BA degree in 1712. While there he learned cryptography from William Blencowe.[1]
In 1716 he became a Decipherer for
Barton in the Clay, Bedfordshire, which he held between 1718 and 1730.[1]
He subsequently deciphered the correspondence between
Canon of Westminster Abbey. He was Dean of Lincoln 1730–1743.[1]
In 1743 he became bishop of St. Davids and in 1744 he became Bishop of Bath and Wells.[1] During his episcopate he undertook some repairs to the Bishop's Palace in Wells.
By his wife Jane, Willes had five sons and four daughters. He was a popular and respected man: one of his sons was reportedly told by the Earl of Chesterfield that he should try to imitate his father in everything.
Willes died in London in 1773, and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
References
- David Kahn, The Codebreakers, 1968.
Notes
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/61903. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)