High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! John Peckham (or Pecham) (c. 1230 – 8 December 1292) was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Franciscan friar about 1250. He studied at Paris under Bonaventure, where he later taught theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas Aquinas, whom he debated on two occasions. Known as a conservative theologian, he opposed Aquinas` views on the nature of the soul. Peckham also studied optics and astronomy, and his studies in those subjects were influenced by Roger Bacon.