Archibald Campbell Tait was born in Edinburgh on 21 December 1811. He was educated at schools in Edinburgh and then he studied at Glasgow University and Balliol College, Oxford. He became a Fellow and Tutor at Balliol and was ordained in the Church of England in 1836. In 1839 he spent the summer in Bonn acquainting himself with the language and literature of Germany. In 1842 he succeeded Dr. Arnold as Headmaster of Rugby and the next year in 1843 he married Catherine Spooner (1819-1878), daughter of William Spooner, Archdeacon of Coventry. Tait became Dean of Carlisle in 1849 and in 1856 he was appointed Bishop of London. In 1868 he was made Archbishop of Canterbury, and enthroned in February 1869. The Most Rev. Archibald Campbell Tait died on 1 December 1882.
From the guide to the Letters of the Most Rev. Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1882) and Mrs. Catherine Tait (d. 1878), 1850-1882, (Edinburgh University Library)
