Index of Names

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The dates in square brackets refer to the letter in which the name first is mentioned.

Adam, Dr John:
a well-known Glasgow F.C. minister. (AFC). [1870-05-25]
Alford, Henry (1810–1871)
was created Dean of Canterbury in 1857. Described in DNB as “one of the most variously accomplished churchmen of his day – poet, preacher, painter, musician, biblical scholar, critic and philosopher”, he founded the Contemporary Review, editing it from 1866–70. [1868-04-20]
Archibald, George (1819–1887):
ministered at Udny in Aberdeenshire and was Presbytery Clerk at Ellon from 1849 to 1881. [1869-12-28 c]
Arminius, James or Jakobus (1560–1609):
Dutch theologian who occupied the chair of theology at Leiden from 1603 and fiercely opposed Calvin’s doctrines of predestination, asserting that the freedom of the human will was entirely compatible with divine sovereignty. Hence the term Arminian, used dismissively by hyper-orthodox Calvinists to refer to their less strict brethren. [1869-08-17]
Arnot, Dr W. (b.1808):
minister of Edinburgh Free High Church from 1863, succeeding Robert Rainy there after the latter’s appointment to the chair of Church History at New College. [1868-03-03]
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Bain, Alexander (1818–1903)
held the chair of Logic and English at Aberdeen University, and one of WRS’s teachers there. Earlier was closely associated with J. S. Mill in the latter’s study of Comte during the 1840s and subsequently was noted for his psychological writings. Bain and WPS knew one another well but the relationship was always strained by the ideological gulf between them. Bain’s unacknowledged influence on WRS was nevertheless considerable and is detectable even in his earliest work. [1868-02-13]
Balfour, William (1821–1895):
F.C. minister of Holyrood Free Church in Edinburgh and a close ally of James Begg, he later wrote a series of controversial articles for the Edinburgh Courant, subsequently published in book form, The Establishment Principle Defended, with a preface by Begg (Balfour, 1873). [1868-03-03]
Bannerman, James (1807–1868):
Professor of Apologetics and Pastoral Theology at New College until his death in 1868. [1866-12-10]
Baur, Ferdinand Christian (1792–1860):
the noted German theologian whose Hegelian stance and radical biblical criticism led to the formation of the highly controversial “Tübingen School”. [1867-04-16]
Beck, Johann Tobias (1804–1878):
theologian and professor at Tübingen until 1878, several volumes of whose sermons were published. [1869-05-08]
Begg, James (1808–1883):
minister at Newington Free Church from 1845. Effectively leader of the ultra-conservative wing of the Free Church, Dr Begg was bitterly opposed to union with the United Presbyterians. Always regarded with deep suspicion by WPS, James Begg was later to play a major role in the attack on Robertson Smith’s views. [1868-03-03]
Beith, Alexander (1791–1891)
was an influential though unassuming figure in Free Church circles. At the Assembly of 1880, his statesmanlike intervention secured Robertson Smith’s reprieve. [1869-03-23]
Bell, Benjamin (1845-1929):
in the same year as WRS at New College, was the son of Dr Benjamin Bell, an eminent Edinburgh surgeon and prominent lay supporter of WRS during his trial. Dr Bell’s eldest son, Dr Joseph Bell, was famous as the Edinburgh medical professor on whom Conan Doyle based the character of Sherlock Holmes. [1868-01-25]
Bertheau, Ernst (1812–1888):
professor of Oriental and Old Testament exegesis at Göttingen from 1843. [1869-05-08]
Black, John Sutherland (1846–1923):
a year ahead of WRS at New College, Black was to become Smith’s closest friend and ultimately his biographer (with G. W. Chrystal). His father was a “much-respected member” of the Kirkcaldy Free Church Presbytery. [1868-01-25].
Blackadder, James
is recorded in FPCA, 1869, as an elder representing Alford Presbytery at the Assembly. The family lived in Abercrombie Place, Edinburgh, at that time. [1868-01-03]
Blackie, John Stuart (1809–1895)
was born in Glasgow but educated in Aberdeen at the Grammar School and Marischal College. Though his appointment in 1837 to the newly created Regius chair of Humanity [Latin] at Marischal College was blocked by Aberdeen Presbytery on account of his openly cynical attitude towards the required subscription to the Westminster Confession, the ecclesiastical objection was overruled by the Court of Session. Those events foreshadow WRS’s later trials and possibly go some way towards explaining Blackie’s “anti-Aberdonian” prejudice. In 1852 he was appointed to the chair of Greek at Edinburgh University. [1867-02-06]
Blaikie, Dr William Garden (1820–1899)
was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, Marischal College and Edinburgh University, becoming an ordained minister just prior to the Disruption, when he joined the Free Church, ministering briefly at Drumblade before being inducted to Pilrig Free Church, Edinburgh, in 1844 and from 1868 occupying the chair of Apologetics and Pastoral Theology at New College. [1868-03-03]
Bonar, Dr Horatius (1808–1889):
a powerful anti-unionist, remembered today mainly for his prolific and popular hymn-writing. Cf. Carnegie Simpson (1909) p.174. [1868-03-03]
Borrow, George Henry (1803–1881):
writer and traveller. The Bible in Spain, in which fact and fiction are very much intertwined, was first published in 1843. [1870-02-10]
Brakenridge, Dr David
lived at 21 India Street, Edinburgh; he and his wife were close friends of the Smith family. Being both a physician [MRCPE] and a surgeon [LRCSE] he could be properly addressed as either “Mr” or “Dr”. [1868-01-25]
Brandis, Christian August (1790–1867)
was Professor Ordinarius of Philosophy in Bonn and an expert on Aristotle. [1868-02-24]
Brewster, Sir David (1781–1868):
In 1860, he moved from position of Principal at St Andrews to become Principal and Vice-Chancellor at Edinburgh University. An eminent supporter of the Free Church from the 1843 Disruption, Brewster was also a noted physicist with an especial interest in photography and is credited with inventing the kaleidoscope. [1868-02-24]
Brougham, Lord Henry Peter (1778–1868):
the eminent Whig politician was famed for his oratory but also for his prolixity in his later days. [1870-04-01 a]
Brown, Alexander Crum (1838–1922)
was a half-brother of Dr John Brown (the highly popular essayist and author of Rab and His Friends). He took a medical degree at Edinburgh and then studied chemistry in Germany, first under Robert Bunsen at Heidelberg and then under Kolbe at Marburg before becoming professor of chemistry at Edinburgh from 1869 to 1908. [1869-05-24]
Brown, Dr Thomas (1811–1873):
minister of the Dean Free Church in Edinburgh from 1849 and later the author of Annals of the Disruption. [1868-03-03]
Buchanan, Dr James (1804–1870)
was Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at New College from its establishment until his death. [1868-01-25]
Bunsen, Baron Christian Charles Josiah von (1791–1860):
the eminent Prussian diplomat, theologian and Anglophile, Bunsen’s Bibelwerk incorporated both a translation of and commentary on the whole Bible. [1868-03-24]
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Calderwood, Henry (1830–1897)
was educated at Edinburgh University where he came strongly under the influence of Sir William Hamilton yet attacked the latter for his rationalistic views. Calderwood was ordained in the United Presbyterian Church in 1856 but succeeded to the chair of Moral Philosophy in Edinburgh University in 1868. His prolific writings aimed to prove that the human mind is independent of the body and not subject to the evolutionary process. [1868-07-20]
Cameron, Alexander:
a final year student at New College in 1867/68. [1868-06-01]
Cameron, Dr George
was one of the unsuccessful candidates in 1870 for the Aberdeen F.C. College Hebrew chair, although he had taken Sachs’ place briefly, following the latter’s death in 1868. In 1887, however, he was formally appointed to the Aberdeen post. [1869-12-28 c]
Campbell, George C. (1833–1893)
was minister of Aberdeen Free North Church from 1859 to 1873. [1869-12-28 c]
Campbell, Peter Colin (1810–1876)
was Principal of Aberdeen University from 1860–76, having previously been Principal of King’s College before the fusion with Marischal College. [1869-12-28 c]
Candlish, James S. (b.1835):
son of Dr Robert S. Candlish and a staunch supporter of WRS. The younger Candlish’s first charge was at Logiealmond but he was called to Aberdeen East in 1869 before being appointed professor at Glasgow Free Church College. [1869-06-26-29]
Candlish, Robert Smith (1806–1873):
Principal at New College from 1862 to 1874 and also minister of St George’s Free Church until succeeded by Alexander Whyte. [1868-02-13]
Clebsch, Rudolf Friedrich Alfred (1833–1872):
professor of mathematics. Studied in Königsberg, taught at Berlin and Karlsruhe. After a spell in Giessen, Clebsch was appointed to Göttingen in 1868 where he pursued his study of algebraic geometry, of which he is justly regarded as the founder. [1869-08-13]
Crudelius, Mrs Mary (1839–1877)
was Secretary of the Edinburgh Ladies Education Association (later the Edinburgh Association for the University Education for Women). [1870-04-01 a]
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Davidson, Andrew B. (1831–1902):
the eminent but reticent Professor of Hebrew at New College, whose teaching had a very marked influence on Robertson Smith. [1866-12-10]
Davidson, Joseph (1824–1877):
F.C. minister at Rothesay from 1867 to 1877. [1869-12-28 c]
De Morgan, Augustus (1806–1871):
one of the most noted of nineteenth century British arithmeticians and mathematicians, who held the chair of Mathematics at University College London from 1828 until his death. A prolific contributor to the Penny Cyclopaedia, De Morgan was much admired by WRS, who later was to recommend his work to G. .H. Lewes. [1869-04-17 b]
Delitzsch, Franz (1813–1890):
German philosopher, theologian and Hebraist, professor of Old Testament at Rostock, Erlangen and from 1867 at Leipzig. Writer of many commentaries on books of the Bible. [1868-03-24]
Dickie, James F.
came from Ayrshire and, like Lindsay and Black, was a year ahead of WRS at New College but is not recorded in AFC. [1868-03-24]
Dods, Marcus (1834–1909)
completed his New College course in 1858 but was not inducted to a Free Church charge (Glasgow Renfield Street) until 1864. Of liberal views, he was more than once (1877 and 1890) suspected of heterodox opinions but no official action was taken by the Assembly in either case. In 1869 he declined an offer to become assistant to Robert Candlish at St George’s Free Church, Edinburgh, but in 1889 was appointed to the chair of NT exegesis at New College and ultimately became Principal there in 1909, although by then too ill to take up his duties in that post. [1868-04-30]
Donaldson, James (later Sir James) (1831–1915)
was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College, becoming first a noted patristic scholar with his three volume study, A Critical History of Christian Literature and Doctrine from the Death of the Apostles to the Nicene Council (1864–66), and subsequently a leading educationalist, closely involved in drafting both the Scottish Education Act of 1872 and the Scottish Universities Act of 1889, prior to being appointed Principal of St Andrew’s University. [1867-02-06]
Dorner, Isaak August (1809–1884):
German Lutheran theologian who studied at Tübingen before spending some years in England and the Netherlands, returning to Tübingen in 1834, where he became professor extraordinary of theology, subsequently teaching at Kiel, Königsberg, Bonn and Göttingen before finally moving to Berlin, where he was a member of the supreme consistorial council. His relatively moderate views were similar to those of Schleiermacher and Rothe. [1869-04-17 a]
Duncan, Dr John (“Rabbi”):
the first holder of the chair of Old Testament Language and Literature at New College and a highly esteemed though decidedly eccentric scholar. By 1868 he was failing considerably and A. B. Davidson had been appointed to assist him until his death in 1870. [1868-03-03]
Duns, John (1818–1909):
Professor of Natural Science at New College. Smith’s contempt for Duns’ teaching competence and scientific knowledge seems to have been justified, according to other contemporary accounts. [1866-12-10]
Dykes, James Oswald (1835–1912)
acted as Robert Candlish’s assistant from 1861. He later resigned and moved for health reasons to Australia but returned in 1869 to London where he became Principal of the English Presbyterian College there. [1869-10-26]
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Ehrenfeuchter, Friedrich (1814–1878):
protestant theologian and professor extraordinary at Göttingen. He was titular abbot (Abt) of Bursfelde, a Benedictine foundation which remained in existence as a protestant monastery after the Reformation. [1869-05-08]
Elmslie, William (1816–1890):
Free Church minister at Insch, Aberdeenshire, until 1880 and father of W. G. Elmslie. [1869-05-08]
Elmslie, William Gray:
entered New College two years later than WRS. [cf. Bruce (1929) p.56] being ordained to St Paul’s Free Church, Edinburgh in 1876 [AFC] and later appointed to the chair of Hebrew at the English Presbyterian College, London. [1868-11-07]
Ewald, Heinrich Georg August von (1803–1875)
was perhaps the most highly regarded of German biblical scholars, his learning being unquestioned and his critical views relatively moderate. For the English-speaking world of the mid nineteenth century, Ewald was one of the most acceptable German theological scholars, being opposed to the more radical critical theories of the Tübingen school. His Hebrew Grammar (1827) and his Geschichte des Volkes Israel (1843–59) were particularly influential. J.S. Black’s 1879 article “Ewald” in EB9 is both laudatory and balanced. [1868-03-24]
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Fairbairn, Dr James
was minister at the Newhaven Free Church. [1870-04-26]
Falconer, William Meek (b.1846):
a fellow third year student at New College. Became minister of Free St Andrews Church, Edinburgh from 1871 and of St Paul’s Church, Edinburgh, from 1876. [1868-03-24]
Ferguson:
a wealthy Glasgow merchant of that name who endowed the Ferguson scholarships in both mathematics and philosophy, open to competition by graduates of all four Scottish universities. WRS had gained the Maths award in 1866, though his advisers in Aberdeen had recommended he compete for the Philosophy scholarship, which went instead to Thomas M. Lindsay. [1866-12-10]
Ferrier, Sir David (1843–1928):
pioneer neurologist and neuro-surgeon, another Aberdeen Grammar School pupil, was two years ahead of WRS at King’s College, Aberdeen, then qualified in medicine (1868) at Edinburgh University. From 1870 he lived in London, practising at Kings College Hospital there. [1867-02-06]
Findlay, Dr William (b.1830):
F.C. minister at Larkhall, Lanarkshire. Nominated by Sir Henry Moncreiff he was one of the least favoured of the ten candidates for the Aberdeen Hebrew chair. [1869-12-28 c]
Flint, Robert (1838–1910):
Scottish theologian and professor of Moral Philosophy, Political Economy and Divinity at St. Andrews. Before this appointment he ministered a few years. Flint became professor of divinity at Edinburgh from 1876 to 1903 and was contributor to the EB9. [1868-07-20]
Fraser, Alexander Campbell (1819–1914)
aligned himself with the Free Church in 1843 and was professor of Logic at New College from 1846–56 before he succeeded Sir William Hamilton as Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at Edinburgh University in 1857 until his retirement in 1891. He contributed the article on Locke to EB9. [1868-02-13]
Fuller, Frederick (b.1819)
was professor of Mathematics at Aberdeen University until 1879. [1863-02-23]
Fürst, Julius (1805–1873):
Jewish scholar and professor at Leipzig University from 1864. The book referred to by WRS is probably Fürst’s Hebräisches und Chaldäisches Handwörterbuch (1851). Cf. the EB9 entry, vol. ix, pp.850f., which is probably by WRS. [1869-05-24]
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Gaß, Wilhelm (1813–1889):
theologian and professor of systematic theology at Geissen and Heidelberg (succeeding R. Rothe); author of Geschichte der protestantischen Dogmatik (3 vols., 1854–67) and representative of a moderate liberalism. [1869-07-07]
Geddes, William Duguid (1828–1900)
held the chair of Greek at Aberdeen University from 1855, having previously been rector of Aberdeen Grammar School. Appointed Principal of the University in 1885, he was knighted in 1892. [1869-12-28 c]
Gibb, John D.D. (b.1835)
had been educated at Aberdeen and was ordained in 1866 by the FC Presbytery of Italy to minister in Malta but in 1868 was appointed a lecturer at the English Presbyterian College, London, becoming Professor of N.T. Exegesis there from 1877. He is recorded as having published an edition of Augustine’ Confessions. [1869-12-03]
Gibson, Alexander (d.1887):
Edinburgh advocate and member of the Edinburgh Evening Club, who later became a close friend (cf. B&C p. 141) and who first introduced WRS to J.F. McLennan. [1870-02-10]
Gordon, Dr Robert (b.1823)
was minister at Buccleuch Church, Edinburgh, from 1854. [1868-03-24]
Grant, Sir Alexander (1826–1884)
established his academic reputation with the Ethics of Aristotle, first published in 1857. He served as Principal of Edinburgh University from 1864 until his death and wrote The Story of the University of Edinburgh (1884) [1868-02-24]
Gray, William Alexander (b.1846):
a contemporary of WRS, educated at Aberdeen University and New College, was ordained in 1869 and ministered first at Logiealmond (Perthshire) before being called to Elgin South in 1874. [1868-11]
Green, Thomas Hill, (1836–1882):
respected British philosopher whose collected Works were published between 1883 and 1888. Educated at Oxford Green became professor of Moral Philosophy there from 1878. [1868-02-24]
Grote, George (1794–1871):
historian. Plato and the other Companions of Sokrates was published in 1865 by Murray, London. [1868-02-24]
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Hastie, Dr William (1842–1903)
was professor of divinity at Glasgow University from 1895, having previously been Principal of the Church of Scotland College in Calcutta, from which he was ejected in 1883. [1869-07-27]
Helmholtz, Herman Ludwig Ferdinand von (1821–1894)
was probably the most celebrated German physicist of his day and arguably the only contemporary German scientist held in genuine esteem by Tait. [1869-05-24]
Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm (1802–1869):
an evangelical German theologian noted for his conservatism and strict orthodoxy. WRS frequently shows his disdain for Hengstenberg’s views and the short (unsigned) EB9 notice on Hengstenberg‘s life and work is probably from his pen. [1869-04-17 a]
Herzog, Johan Jakob (1805–1882):
editor of the Real-Encyclopäde für protestantische Theologie und Kirche (22 vols., 1854–68). [1868-06-01]
Hope, Thomas Charles (1776–1844):
a former professor of Chemistry at Edinburgh University after whom the Hope Fellowships were named. [1870-04-01 a]
Horstmann:
a German chemist. [1869-07-27]
Hunter, William Alexander (1844–1898):
another able Aberdonian who obtained high honours, Hunter had been educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and the University there, graduating in 1864 with “the highest honours” [DNB]. After being called to the English bar in 1867, he was appointed to the chair of Roman Law at University College London in August, 1869, and in 1885 was elected MP for Aberdeen North. His sympathies for the views of John Stuart Mill (and later Charles Bradlaugh) would not have endeared him to Robertson Smith. Hunter was, however, instrumental in gaining free elementary education for all children in Scotland from 1890. [1868-02-13]
Hupfeld, Hermann (1796–1866)
was professor of Theology at Marburg and one of the more advanced German biblical critics, being accused in 1865 of “having taught exegesis in a sense inconsistent with the recognised character of the O.T. as a divine revelation”. His groundbreaking work on the different sources of Genesis [Die Quellen der Genesis] was published in 1853. [1868-03-24]
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Ingleby, Clement Mansfield (1823–1886)
was educated as a lawyer at Trinity College, Cambridge, but became a Shakespearean critic and miscellaneous writer [DNB] as well as being a would-be philosopher. [1870-01-01]
Innes, James:
F.C. minister at Panbride near Arbroath. He had originally been a contender for the Hebrew chair at Aberdeen but withdrew before the Assembly met. As a setter of questions for the Hebrew paper for the Cunningham Fellowship exams, he incurred Smith’s annoyance. [1870-04-01 a]
Ireland, Robert Henderson (1827–1881):
F.C. minister at Skene, Aberdeenshire, from 1850; translated to Portobello in 1861. [1868-03-03]
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Jansen, Cornelius (1585–1638):
Bishop of Ypres, whose qualified approval of some aspects of Calvinism in France led to the persecution of his followers, who nevertheless became highly influential during the 17th century. [1870-04-01 a]
Jurieu, Pierre (1637–1713):
Protestant theologian occupying the chair of theology and Hebrew at Sedan, of a “controversial temper … verging on insanity” [EB9]. [1870-04-01 a]
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Kamphausen, Adolf (1829–1909):
became private secretary to Christian Bunsen in Heidelberg and privat-docent at the University there from 1856 to 1859, later becoming associate professor of Old Testament exegesis there from 1863 to 1868 and professor from 1868 to 1901. In 1871 he became a member of the committee for the revision of Luther’s translation of the Old Testament. [1868-03-24]
Kay, Charles Donald (b.1841)
was ordained at Innerleithen in 1870. [1870-04-01 a]
Kelland, Philip (1808–1879)
held the chair of Mathematics at Edinburgh University. [1870-04-06]
Kelvin, see Thomson, Sir William.
Kennedy, John (1819–1884)
was a noted Gaelic preacher at Dingwall and later proved to be one of Robertson Smith’s most virulent opponents. [1869-12-28 c]
Kippen, James J. G. (b.1846):
a student at New College in the same year as WRS, he became F.C. minister at Pitcairngreen, near Perth. [1868-01-25]
Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824–1887):
an eminent German physicist and collaborator of Bunsen in respect of electromagnetic radiation and spectral analysis. [1869-05-24]
Klein, Felix (1849–1925):
the renowned German mathematician became a close friend of WRS as the many references in his letters indicate. [1869-05-08]
Köhler, August (1835–1897):
Professor of Old Testament Exegesis, Universities of Jena, Bonn and Erlangen. His conservative stance came under some criticism from the Wellhausen-school. [1870-01-06]
Kohlrausch, Friedrich W. G. (1840–1910):
professor of physics at Göttingen from 1866 to 1870 and a pioneer of experimental techniques in relation to accurate measurement and method in physics. [1869-05-24]
Kuenen, Abraham (1828–1891):
Dutch Protestant theologian educated at the University of Leiden. Initially a follower of Heinrich Ewald’s theology, Kuenen, like Scholten, became one of the more radical of contemporary Continental theologians. In 1882 Kuenen travelled to England to deliver the Hibbert lectures. [1870-04-01 b]
Kuyper, Abraham (1837–1920)
was a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church and founder of the Free Calvinistic University in 1880. As Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905 he adopted strongly rightwing policies. [1869-08-17]
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Lagrange, Joseph Louis (1736–1813):
one of the foremost mathematicians of his day and notable for his frequently valid criticisms of Newton’s analytical method. Both Stirling and WRS attack Lagrange in this respect. Cf. the article “Lagrange” in EB9 by Miss A. M. Clerk. [1870-01-01]
Laidlaw, Dr John (b.1832)
had ministered at Perth West Free Church from 1863. From 1881 he held the chair of Systematic Theology at New College. [1870-01-31]
Laing, John (1809–1899)
was Librarian at New College from 1855 and seemingly acted as invigilator at examinations. [1869-11-03]
Lange, Johann Peter (1802–1894):
German reformed theologian and exegete, he taught at the universities of Zürich and Bonn. A prolific writer, Lange’s Theologische Homiletisches Bibelwerk was later edited and translated by Philip Schaff into 25 English volumes under the title A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. [1869-12-21]
Leslie, Alexander:
F.C. minister at Ladyloan Church, Arbroath, from 1843. [1869-12-28 c]
Leslie, Dr William:
an Aberdeenshire landowner who was favourably disposed towards the Free Church. [1869-12-28 c]
Lilley, James Philip (1845–1931)
was to write “William Robertson Smith: recollections of a fellow-student” in The Expositor (vol. xx, 8th series, 1920, pp. 61-76 and 126-138). [1867-02-06]
Lindsay, Thomas Martin (1843–1914):
a year ahead of WRS at New College, Lindsay became a close friend, debating rival and staunch supporter. Like Robertson Smith, he was invited to contribute early articles for EB9, amongst these “Apologetics” and “Christianity”. In 1872 Lindsay became professor of Church History at Glasgow F.C. College and was appointed Principal there in 1902. He is best remembered for his writings on Luther and the Reformation. [1866-12-10]
Lotze, Hermann (1817–1881):
the highly influential philosopher and epistemologist whose emphasis on the ethical and psychological dimensions of religious belief would have been attractive to WRS. [1869-05-08]
Lumsden, James L. (1810–1875):
Principal of Aberdeen Free Church College from 1864 until his death. [1869-12-28 c]
Lünemann, Gottlieb:
author, amongst other works, of Kritisch exegetisches Handbuch über den Hebräerbrief (1855). [1869-05-08]
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Macdonell, Sir John (1845–1921):
another Aberdeen Grammar School pupil, Macdonell was a contemporary of WRS at Aberdeen University before joining the Scotsman as journalist and leader writer, publishing A Survey of Political Economy in 1871. Entering the Middle Temple in 1870, Macdonell thereafter pursued an eminent career as jurist, becoming professor of Comparative Law at University College London in 1901. [1867-02-06]
Macgregor, Dr James (1830–1894)
was educated at Edinburgh University and New College. He ministered at the Free High Church Paisley before being appointed Professor of Systematic Theology at New College in 1868. Resigning in 1882, he emigrated to New Zealand. [1868-04-30]
Machenhauer, Alexander:
a German philosopher. [1868-02-24]
MacIntosh:
probably Alexander MacIntosh (1842–1889): who ministered at Bowmore, Islay, from 1874, resigned in 1879 and emigrated to Australia. [1868-11]
MacKellar or Makellar, William (1816–1876)
was ordained in 1843 at Pencaitland Free Church, where his father Angus Makellar was minister, but resigned in 1845 (AFC). In PFCA for 1868, the Rev. William McKellar of Ascog Lodge, Bute, is recorded as attending the Assembly as one of the Dunoon and Inverary representatives but is listed with the elders, not as a ministerial commissioner. In AFC, he is recorded as William Makellar. [1868-04-28]
Mackie, Lindsay:
a fourth year New College student in 1869 (PFCA). [1869-03-23]
Maclean, Duncan (b.1846):
a fourth year student at New College in 1869. [1869-11-03]
Macleod, Dr Norman (1812–1872):
the immensely popular, liberal and influential Church of Scotland minister of the Barony Church, Glasgow (from 1851) and chaplain in Scotland to Queen Victoria from 1857. His editorship of Good Words from 1860 further increased his fame (DNB). [1869-07-07]
Masson, David (1822–1907):
professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at Edinburgh University from 1865 to 1897. Of humble origins, he had been educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College. A close friend of Alexander Bain, he was introduced by the latter in London to Thomas Carlyle and John Stuart Mill, becoming a noted writer for the periodicals of the day. Masson was a strong proponent of women’s rights as well as a noted historian, critic and academic of considerable renown. [1867-02-06]
McCombie, C.:
unidentified but undoubtedly a member of the distinguished farming family from the Alford area, famed for introducing the Aberdeen-Angus breed of cattle. He was possibly a brother of William McCombie (1809–1870) who became a notable journalist and writer, being founder and editor of the Aberdeen Daily Free Press from 1853 until his death. [1870-03-04 a]
McDonald, Archibald:
the elder of two sons, was “a lifelong friend” (B&C). WRS and his brother George boarded with the McDonald family at Aberdeen during the university session of 1864–65 after Mary Jane’s death. [1864-05-09]
McPhail, James Calder (b.1820)
was Free Church minister at Aberdeen East from 1849 until his translation to Pilrig in 1868 [AFC]. [1868-12-18]
Menzies, Allan (1845–1916)
was to become a very distinguished Prof. of New Testament in St Andrews. [1868-04-28]
Meyer, Theodore Jonas (1819–1894):
a German convert from Judaism who was licensed by Edinburgh F.C. presbytery in 1855 and acted as Hebrew tutor at New College until moving to Amsterdam in 1866. [1869-12-14]
Mill, John Stuart (1806–1873):
the world-renowned philosopher, logician and scholar. [1869-04-06]
Miller, Alexander (b.1843)
was ordained to Buckie in 1875. [1870-02-10]
Minto, William (1845–1893):
a fellow-student and close academic rival of WRS. Born at Alford, he graduated from Aberdeen University in 1865, with honours in classics, mathematics and philosophy. After a year at Merton College, Oxford, Minto returned to Aberdeen, becoming assistant to Alexander Bain and succeeding him there in the chair of Logic and Rhetoric in 1880. [1863-02-23]
Moncreiff, Sir Henry Wellwood (1809–1883):
minister of Free St Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh, an expert in ecclesiastical law, and Joint Clerk to the Free Church Assembly from 1855 until his death, he played a significant and highly influential role in the trial proceedings against WRS. [1868-03-03]
Morgan, John (b.1839)
was minister of Fountainbridge Free Church, Edinburgh. [1870-04-26]
Mowat, Donald (b.1844):
educated at Edinburgh University and New College, he was ordained at Dunnet in 1876 (AFC). [1869-03-23]
Müller, Julius (1801–1878):
a protestant theologian bitterly opposed to Hegel’s philosophy. WRS refers to Müller’s Die christliche Lehre von der Sünde (1844). [1869-05-24]
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Nichol, Andrew
was F.C. minister at Rhynie from 1835 to 1871. [1869-12-28 c]
Nicol, James (“Jeems) (1810–1879):
professor of Natural History at Marischal College (subsequently Aberdeen University) from 1853 to 1878. [1863-02-23]
Niebuhr, Barthold Georg (1776–1831):
the eminent classical historian whose History of Rome was translated into English in 1827. [1869-08-17]
Nixon, William:
F.C. minister at Montrose. [1870-04-01 a]
Nöther, Max (1844–1921):
a pioneer of modern algebraic geometry, was assistant professor of Mathematics at Heidelberg from 1865–1888 and then full professor at Erlangen University. [1869-07-27]
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Oehler, Gustav Friedrich (1812–1873):
a German theologian whose Theology of the Old Testament came to be translated from the German by WRS’s sister Ellen and was published in 1874 by T. & T Clark, Edinburgh. [1868-05-20]
Oehler, Herrmann:
edited his father’s Theology of the Old Testament after the latter’s death in 1872 and is designated in the Preface as Librarian to the Evangelical Seminary, Tübingen. [1868-06-01]
Oliphant, Thomas:
had been rector of the Edinburgh “Normal School” (i.e. training school for teachers) opened by the Church in 1842. At the Disruption he and all his staff “came out” and in 1846 he set up his own private school, the Charlotte Square Institution for Young Ladies, at 33 Charlotte Square. It was this school that Ellen Smith, and later Alice Smith, attended while living in Edinburgh with WRS. In 1848 the Free Church purchased Moray House in the Canongate, which eventually became Edinburgh’s Teacher Training College and is now part of Edinburgh University. As a Free Church elder, Thomas Oliphant attended the General Assembly in 1869 (FCPA, vol. xxvii, 1869). [1868-01-25]
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Pajon, Claude (1626–1685):
initiated the doctrine whereby strict Calvinism was mitigated to express a form of conditional universalism. Hence Pajonism, the doctrine of Pajon. [1870-04-01 a]
Pauli, Reinhold (1823–1882):
historian and philosopher with main emphasis on English history. He lectured in Tübingen and in Göttingen from 1870 to 1882. [1867-04-16]
Plücker, Julius (1801–1868):
held the chair of mathematics and experimental physics at Bonn until his death. [1869-05-08]
Plumtre, Edward Hayes (1821–1891):
professor of Pastoral Theology and later of Exegesis at King’s College, London, he became Dean of Wells in 1881 and served, along with WRS, on the OT Revision committee from 1879 to 1884. [1868-04-20]
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Rae, George M. D.D. (b.1840 at Udny, Aberdeenshire):
educated at Aberdeen University and Free Church College; ordained 1867 and became a missionary at Madras. [1869-10-26]
Rae, probably John Rae (b. 1836 at Udny)
who was ordained to the Free Church at Gamrie, in 1866. [1870-04-26]
Rainnie, John (b.1841):
was educated at Edinburgh University and Aberdeen F.C.C.. Ordained at Alford in 1867, he became minister at Strathdon in 1871. [1869-12-03]
Rainy, Robert (1826–1906)
became minister of Huntly F.C. in 1851 before being called to the Free High Church, Edinburgh, in 1854. In 1862 he was appointed Professor of Church History at New College and became Principal there from 1874. For many decades he was effectively leader of the Free Church of Scotland. [1868-04-30]
Reid, J. Bentley:
listed in 1869 (PFCA) as being a year below WRS at New College and an acquaintance of WRS since his Aberdeen days. There is no record of him, however, in AFC. [1869-06-26-29]
Reid, Robert (1811–1893):
F.C. minister at Banchory-Ternan from 1843. [1869-12-28 c]
Ritschl, Albrecht (1822–1889):
German Protestant theologian. He taught at Bonn (1851–64) and Göttingen (from 1864). The Ritschlian theology, a reaction against rationalism, was influential in the 19th and early 20th cent. His theology stressed ethics and the community of man and repudiated metaphysics. Ritschl’s most notable work was The Christian Doctrine of Justification and Reconciliation (1872 and 1900). [1869-04-17 a]
Robertson, George Croom (1842–1892)
was a longstanding acquaintance and friend of WRS. Educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and Marischal College, Croom Robertson assisted Bain (in Logic) and then Geddes (in Greek) at Aberdeen University before obtaining the chair of mental philosophy and logic at University College London. Cf. B&C p.110. [1867-04-16]
Roger:
the Roger family (in those days generally spelled “Rodger” – cf. EPOD entries) appear to have been close friends and may be identified with the firm of photographers referred to in WRS’s letter to his mother of 1869–02-19. [1868-01-03]
Ross, Charles (1826–1892)
was minister of Bon-Accord Free Church in Aberdeen between 1854 and 1869. [1869-12-28 c]
Rothe, Richard (1799–1867):
the German theologian whose Zur Dogmatik WRS had acquired in 1867. Rothe’s Theologische Ethik was first published in 1845–48 and then in a five volume edition between 1867–71. His theories foreshadow “process” theology and reflect a strongly spiritualised concept of evolution to which Tait and Balfour Stewart’s Unseen Universe has certain obvious affinities. [1868-06-01]
Routh, Edward John (1831–1907)
was a noted mathematician, fellow of Peterhouse College and maths lecturer at Cambridge, with a high reputation for tutoring private pupils in that subject [DNB]. [1868-02-13]
Ruhnken, David (1723–1798)
was one of the most illustrious Dutch scholars of the 18th century, teaching at Leiden from 1757 onwards. [1869-08-17]
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Salmasius, or de Saumaise, Claudius (1586–1653):
reputedly the most eminent classical scholar of his day. Born in Burgundy, he was converted to Protestantism at Heidelberg in 1606 and moved to an honorary chair at Leiden in 1631. His Defence of the Reign of Charles I – essentially an attempt to vindicate absolute monarchy – was vehemently attacked by John Milton in the latter’s Defence on behalf of the English People (1651). [1869-08-17]
Salmond, Stewart:
an unsuccessful contender for the Hebrew chair in 1870, Salmond nevertheless supported WRS and eventually became Principal of The Aberdeen Free Church College. [1869-12-03]
Scaliger, Joseph Justus (1540–1609):
still an iconic figure in the history of classical and historical scholarship. He was invited to accept an honorary chair at Leiden University (founded in 1575) and remained there from 1593 until his death. [1869-08-17]
Schaarschmidt, Carl (1822–1910):
teacher, mentor and friend to WRS, studied under Böckh , Trendelenburg and Schelling. From 1859 he was Professor of Philosophy at Bonn University and from 1882 Director of Bonn University Library. WRS stayed with Schaarschmidt during his first stay in Germany (1867) and the latter’s hospitality may have influenced Smith’s decision not to go to Tübingen. WRS had been introduced to Schaarschmidt in 1867 through a letter of recommendation from George Croom Robertson, who had known the Bonn philosopher since 1865. See B. Maier, The letters of William Robertson Smith in Bonn University Library, AUR LXI (2) 2005. [1867-04-16]
Schenkel, Daniel (1813–1885)
was professor of Theology at Heidelberg University, a follower of Schleiermacher and a strong proponent of science as the ally of Christianity. His best-known work was translated into English in 1869 as A Sketch of the Character of Jesus (London: Longmans, Green & Co.). [1869-07-27]
Scholten, Jan Hendrik (1811–1885):
Dutch Protestant theologian who became professor at Leiden from 1843. It was through him that Abraham Kuenen became attracted to the study of theology. Amongst otther works, Scholten published A Critical Study of the Gospel of John (1864). [1869-08-13]
Schultz, Hermann (1836–1903):
Protestant theologian and philosopher; Prof. in Göttingen, Basle, Strasbourg, Heidelberg. In 1890 he became successor of Friedrich Ehrenfeuchter as protestant(!) abbot of Bursfelde. The Old Testament Theology was first published in 1869. [1870-03-04 a]
Schwegler, Albert (1819–1857)
was a pupil of F. C. Baur but gave up theology for historical and philosophical writing [EB9]. [1870-01-01]
Simons, Menno (1492–1559):
a leading opponent of infant baptism from whom stemmed the many Mennonite communities in Switzerland, Holland and later the U.S.A. [1869-08-17]
Smeaton, George (d.1889)
was appointed to the chair of New Testament Language and Literature at New College in 1868, although he had held a chair there since 1854. [1868-04-30]
Smith, Alice: see Thiele Smith, Alice
Smith, Charles Michie (Charlie) (1854–1922):
the seventh child of the Smith family (one daughter, Eliza, died in infancy). Having shown marked practical abilities, Charles studied at Edinburgh University and obtained a B.Sc. degree in engineering. After a spell of work cable-laying in the West Indies, he was appointed professor of Mathematics at Madras Christian College and subsequently Director of Kodaikanal Observatory, being honoured for his work there by being created Companion of the Indian Empire [CIE]. His main interests were in the field of solar physics and he published numerous papers on the topic — not least his views on the effects of the great Krakatoa eruption — as well as contributing articles to EB9. [1869-06-26-29]
Smith, Ellen (Nellie) Deans (1851–1917):
the fifth child of the Smith family, Ellen had the role of big sister to her younger siblings. She accompanied WRS to Edinburgh and attended school there from 1866 — as did her younger sister, Alice from 1869–70 — and then to Germany in 1869 and 1871. After an unhappy engagement to a German student, she married (1876) an F.C. minister, James Hamilton Allan, then assistant to WPS. The couple had no offspring and Allan proved to be a weakly character, frequently unable to perform his ministerial duties. After the couple had settled on the island of Yell in the Shetlands, Ellen was forced to undertake much of her husband’s pastoral work (including preaching) but found it rewarding nevertheless. Several years after her husband’s early death at Sellafirth in Yell, she returned to Aberdeen where she continued with charitable work. [1866-12-10]
Smith, George Michie (1848–1866):
the second oldest son, who died very shortly after graduating from Aberdeen University. He is said to have equalled his elder brother in intellectual capacity. [1863-02-23]
Smith, Herbert (Bertie) (1862–1887):
loveable pet of the family, Bertie showed none of the thirst for education of his brothers nor indeed any of the practical skills of his siblings. His father’s attempts to teach him the classics ended disastrously. For a time during the early 1880s, Bertie lived with WRS in Edinburgh and later became clerk in an Aberdeen bank, but his health failed soon thereafter and he was forced to give up work. Like his sister Mary Jane and his brother George, he died of tuberculosis at an early age. [1866-12-28]
Smith, Isabella Giles (1849–1938):
was the fourth child in the Smith family and the eldest daughter following the death of Mary Jane in 1864. She remained unmarried throughout her long life. Bella was an excellent if imperious housekeeper but disliked travel and according to her sister Alice (in COTM) was the least academically-minded of the girls. It was Bella who bequeathed the family portraits to Aberdeen Art Gallery. [1863-02-23]
Smith, Jane née Robertson (1821–1899)
was the daughter of Peter Robertson, head master of the West End Academy in Aberdeen. In 1844 she married WPS who had become head teacher on her father’s death in 1842 and the couple moved to Keig in 1845 on the ordination of WPS as Free Church minister there. [1864-05-09]
Smith, Lucy (1859–1922):
tenth of the eleven Smith children, was the youngest daughter. As a child she had a happy, carefree nature but no great aptitude for academic learning. She accompanied Alice to Germany and, following the disappointment of a broken promise of marriage, became governess to J. F. Maclennan’s family, remaining as companion to his widow after McLennan’s early death. It was Lucy who nursed her brother during the last weeks of his illness before his death in 1894 at Cambridge. Subsequently she went to London, becoming a dedicated nurse and later matron at St Thomas’s Hospital. Forced to leave her work following a serious illness, she went to India with her unmarried brother, Charlie, as his housekeeper and later, when he needed constant care, his nurse. She died in 1922, a few months before her brother. [1865-07-07]
Smith, Martha — Aunt Mattie, (1809–1896):
unmarried sister of WPS. After their mother’s death M. lived for two years in the Manse of Keig, which turned out to be a burden for both parties. So she returned to Aberdeen to her old cronies. [1867-05-12]
Smith, Mary Jane (1845–1864)
was the first child born to WPS and his wife Jane in July, the same month in which William Pirie Smith received his call to Keig. She died of consumption on May 15, 1864. Alice Smith describes the death of her sister in Children of the Manse. [1864-05-09]
Smith, Dr Thomas (b.1817)
was minister at Cowgate West, Edinburgh. A staunch supporter of Dr James Begg he wrote the Memoirs of James Begg D.D. (1888). [1868-04-30]
Smith, Sir William (1831–1893)
produced an extensive range of classical textbooks, including his Selections from Tacitus. He is best remembered for his Bible Dictionary (1860–65) and for his editorship of the Quarterly Review from 1867. [1868-05-11]
Smith, William Pirie (1811–1890):
a man of humble origins, WPS was typical of the self-made Scotsman of the period. After apprenticeship as a wood turner, he slowly accumulated sufficient academic learning to gain a bursary and entered King’s College in 1832 as a student. An excellent if strict teacher, WPS took over the headship of the West End Academy after his predecessor’s, later father-in-law’s death in 1842 before his subsequent ordination to the Free Church parish of Keig and Tough in 1845. WPS educated all his sons (and numerous others) at home in the manse schoolroom while minister at Keig. [1864-05-09]
Steinmeyer, Franz Karl Ludwig (1811–1900):
a German Evangelical theologian, noted for his preaching ability and influenced by Schleiermacher and Rothe. He held chairs at Breslau, Bonn and Berlin. [1869-04-17 a]
Stewart, Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Grainger (1839–1900)
was a close friend of David Brakenridge, becoming an extra-academical lecturer at the Medical School in Edinburgh after training at Edinburgh, Prague and Berlin. In 1876 he was appointed professor of Medicine at Edinburgh and was knighted in 1894 after serving for twelve years as Physician-in-Ordinary in Scotland to Queen Victoria. [1869-12-03]
Stirling, James Hutchison (1829–1909):
embarked on a medical career but from 1851 devoted his life to the study of philosophy, his most notable work being The Secret of Hegel (1865) which had doubtless come to WRS’s attention by way of P.G. Tait. [1868-02-24]
Strauss, David Friedrich (1808–1874):
author of the radical Life of Jesus Critically Examined, which was translated from the German by George Eliot in 1846. [1868-04-28]
Sturrock, James B. (b.1837)
ministered at Kemnay from 1866 to 1869, when he moved to Paisley High Free Church. Educated at Aberdeen University and Aberdeen F.C.C., he would have known the Smith family well. [1869-12-28 c]
Sutherland:
probably Dr James Sutherland (b.1823): was F.C. Synodal clerk at Turriff from 1866. [1869-12-28 c]
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Tait, Peter Guthrie (1831–1901):
Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh University from 1860, and someone with whom WRS was to have a particularly close relationship for many years. Having been examiner for the Ferguson scholarships, Tait had by 1866 already become aware of Smith’s intellectual brilliance. Cf. B&C pp.101f. [1868-05-20]
Thiele Smith, Alice (1858–1943)
was the ninth of eleven Smith children and greatly devoted to her big brother Will. She did not have the same educational opportunities as her brothers but, thanks to her father and eldest brother, did receive more education than most girls at that time. All the Smith daughters attended town schools for brief periods and later were taken abroad in their brother’s care — except for Isabella, who refused to go — to receive tuition in the arts and in foreign languages, especially German. In 1876, along with her younger sister Lucy, Alice was taken to Frankfurt in Germany where she met her future husband, Hans Thiele. After a lengthy engagement, Alice and Hans finally married in 1883 and from then on, except for occasional visits to Scotland, she remained in Germany, bringing up a family of five children. As long as he lived, WRS gave the couple moral and financial support, since Hans proved unsuccessful in business. At the age of 75 she penned down her childhood reminiscences, which were edited and published in 2004 as the title Children of the Manse. Alice died in 1943 as a widow in Braunschweig. [1866-12-28]
Thomson, Professor David (1817–1880):
secured the chair of Natural Philosophy against James Clerk Maxwell on the 1860 amalgamation of King’s and Marischal College at Aberdeen and continued successfully in that post until his death at the age of 63. [1868-02-13]
Thomson, Dr Edward Anderson:
minister of St Stephen’s Free Church, Edinburgh, from1862 to 1890. [1868-03-03]
Thomson, Rev. George W. of Kirkcaldy
declined to accept the call to St Andrew’s Church in Edinburgh’s George Street: see PFCA, 1870, pp.39f. [1870-02-10]
Thomson, James (1786–1849):
father of both William (later Lord Kelvin) and James J. Thomson, was appointed to the chair of Mathematics at Glasgow University in 1832 where Stirling was a student for nine successive sessions, from 1833–42. [DNB]. In 1831 Thomson had published a textbook, The Differential and Integral Calculus. [1869-12-23]
Thomson, Sir William, later Lord Kelvin (1824–1907)
the distinguished physicist, was educated at home before entering Glasgow University at the age of eleven and subsequently pursuing his studies at Peterhouse College and Paris University. A close friend of Joule, Helmholtz and P.G. Tait, Thomson established the first physics laboratory in Britain and gained immense prestige for his work on the transatlantic telegraph. [1869-05-24]
 
Tischendorf, Konstantin von (1815–1874):
protestant theologian and professor of New Testament in Leipzig, most noted for his editing of the then newly discovered Codex Sinaiticus. [1870-02-07]
Trail, John A.:
matriculated at Aberdeen University in 1861, the same year as WRS and his brother George. He later became an Edinburgh lawyer. [1868-02-13]
Traill, William (1819–1874)
was ordained in 1843 at Skene and translated to Elgin South in 1867. [1869-12-28 c]
Tulloch:
probably Charles Tulloch (b.1829): F.C. minister at Lossiemouth. [1869-12-28 c]
Turretin:
in EB9 three Calvinist theologians of that name are cited, Benoit, François and Jean Alphonse. The reference is probably to the last of these figures, who occupied the chair of church history at Geneva from 1697 until his death in 1737. [1869-11-03]
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Veitch, William “Grecian” (1794–1885):
an eminent classical scholar living in Edinburgh, He secured no academic post, however, John Stuart Blackie having obtained the chair of Greek at Edinburgh University in 1851. [1869-12-28 c]
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Wallace, Robert (1831–1899):
Church of Scotland minister at Old Greyfriars, Edinburgh. Strongly liberal in matters of worship and doctrine, Wallace was appointed to the chair of Church History at Edinburgh University in 1872 but was charged (unsuccessfully) with heresy by Edinburgh Presbytery in 1873. Disillusioned by the internecine strife within the Scottish churches, Wallace became editor of The Scotsman from 1876 to 1900, before joining the legal profession and ultimately becoming MP for Edinburgh East until his death. Robert Wallace, Life and Last Leaves (Smith and Wallace, 1903) contains a variety of his controversial and sometimes eccentric editorials, several of which refer to Robertson Smith’s heresy trials. [1868-05-11]
Weber, Wilhelm (1804–1891):
the very eminent German physicist and professor of natural philosophy at Leipzig and Göttingen. Along with Gauss, Weber is credited with constructing the first electric telegraph. [1869-04-17 a]
Whyte, Alexander (1836–1921)
was born at Kirriemuir; became joint minister at Free St John’s Church, Glasgow, and then minister of Free St George’s, Edinburgh from 1870, where he succeeded R. S. Candlish. In 1909 he was appointed Principal of New College. See his biography by G. F. Barbour. which recounts the story of his support for WRS. [1869-12-28 c]
Woodford:
probably the Dr Woodford mentioned by Alexander Bain (Autobiography, p.306) as Chancellor’s Assessor at Aberdeen University in 1865. [1867-02-06]
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Introduction

A Note on the Text

Abbreviations

Select Bibliography

Index of Names

Index of Letters by date

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