William Hamilton (university principal)

William Hamilton (1669–1732) was a Scottish Presbyterian theologian and minister of the Church of Scotland. He was professor of divinity at the University of Edinburgh from 1709 to 1732 and also principal of the university from 1730 to 1732.

Life

He was born in 1669 the son of Gavin Hamilton of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire. He studied at Edinburgh University graduating around 1688.[1]

He was ordained as a Church of Scotland minister in September 1694 at Cramond Kirk.[2] In 1709 he left Cramond to be Professor of Divinity at Edinburgh University. He was also Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on five occasions: 1712, 1716, 1720, 1727 and 1730.

The elder Hamilton was an influential figure in the growth of "early moderatism", and several of his students, including Wishart,[3] were prominent Rankenians.[4]

In 1732, having been promoted to Principal of Edinburgh University in 1730, he took on the additional role of collegiate minister to the New (West) Kirk in St Giles which was then split into four parishes internally.[1]

He died in Edinburgh on 12 November 1732.

Family

In 1696 he married Mary Robertson of Glasgow (1674-1760).[5][6] His sons included:

Notes
  1. Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae; by Hew Scott
  2. PDF, where he is described as a transitional figure.
  3. William Wishart (secundus). The Rankenian Club was founded 1717 by radical theology students in Edinburgh.
  4. (PDF), p. 25
  5. Breslaw, Elaine G (2008). Dr. Alexander Hamilton and Provincial America: Expanding the Orbit of Scottish Culture/. United States: LSU Press. pp. 9–13. ISBN 9780807132784.
  6. Marek, Miroslav. "Hamilton 14". Genealogy.EU.
  7. Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2016.


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