Spalding, Martin

Spalding, Martin (John)

(1810–72) Catholic prelate; born in Baltimore, Md. The first American Catholic to win a doctorate in theology (in Rome, 1834), he was a teacher, college president (1838–40), and scholar known especially for his writings on the Protestant Reformation. He served as bishop of Louisville from 1850; as archbishop of Baltimore, from 1864, he played a leading role in national church affairs.