 Archbishop Davidson resigned in July 1928 ( he is believed to have been the first Archbishop of Canterbury ever to retire voluntarily ) . On 26 July Lang was notified by the Prime Minister , Stanley Baldwin , that he would be the successor ; William Temple would succeed Lang at York . Lang was enthroned as the new Archbishop of Canterbury on 4 December 1928 , the first bachelor to hold the appointment in 150 years . A contemporary Time magazine article described Lang as " forthright and voluble " and as looking " like George Washington " . Lang 's first three years at Canterbury were marked by intermittent illnesses , which required periods of convalescence away from his duties . After 1932 , however , he " had almost unbroken health " for the rest of his life . 
