Edmund Keene (1714 – 6 July 1781) was an English churchman and academic, who was Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge and later served first as Bishop of Chester, then Bishop of Ely.
Younger brother of the diplomat Benjamin Keene, the family were close friends of Sir Robert Walpole, British Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742. This connection helped him secure a series of lucrative positions in his early career but it was his relationship with Walpole's successor Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle that proved most beneficial.
With Newcastle's support, he was appointed Vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1749, carrying out a number of reforms. In 1752, he became Bishop of Chester, then Bishop of Ely in 1771, his 'great object, the aim and end of his ambition'.
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Biographical details
Edmund Keene was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk in 1714, second surviving son of Charles Keene (1675–?) and Susan Rolfe (?–1753). His older brother Benjamin (1697–1757) was a distinguished diplomat and long-serving Ambassador to Spain.
Both his father and uncle Benjamin served as Mayor of King's Lynn, as did his grandfather Edmund Rolfe (1640–1726). In addition, Rolfe was election agent for Sir Robert Walpole, British Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742; this connection helped the careers of both Benjamin and Edmund.