Edward White Benson (July 14 1829 – October 11 1896) was an academic and Archbishop of Canterbury.

He suggested to Henry James the general plot for James' classic ghost story, "The Turn of the Screw."

Benson and his wife Mary Sidgwick Benson , the sister of philosopher Henry Sidgwick, had six children. Their fifth child was the novelist E F Benson. Another son was A C Benson, the author of the the lyrics to Elgar's Land of Hope and Glory. Their six and youngest child, Robert Hugh Benson, converted to Roman Catholicism and wrote several novels.