Alexander Hill (1785–1867) was a Scottish minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in 1845. He was professor of divinity at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Life

Hill was born in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

on 19 July 1785, one of eleven children of Harriet Scott and Rev George Hill, Principal of the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He studied at the University of St Andrews graduating with an MA in 1804. In September 1806, he was licensed to preach as a

minister by the Presbytery of St Andrews. He spent nine years travelling in England and Europe, taking various tutoring jobs. In July 1815 he was ordained as minister of

Colmonell Colmonell (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cill Cholmain Eala)'' (meaning the church of St. Colman of Lainn Eala - in Lynally, County Offaly, Ireland.) is a small village and civil parish in the Stinchar Valley, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The nearest town is ...

translating to

Dailly Dailly ( gd, Dail Mhaol Chiarain) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining vil ...

in 1816 (both in South Ayrshire). He was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1828 by St Andrews. From 1839 to 1863 he was Professor of Divinity at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. In 1840 he was proposed as

but was beaten by

Angus Makellar Angus Makellar (1780–1859) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1840. Leaving in the Disruption of 1843 he also served as Moderator of the General Asse ...

. In 1845 he succeeded Rev John Lee as Moderator and was succeeded in turn by Rev James Paul. He lived at 12 College Court, Glasgow. He died on 27 January 1867 in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

Family

In April 1817 he married Margaret Crawford, daughter of Major Moris Crawford HEICS. They had nine children.

Artistic recognition

His portrait was painted by

John Graham Gilbert John Graham-Gilbert (1794 – 4 June 1866) was a Scottish portrait painter and art collector. Life Graham-Gilbert was born in Glasgow as John Graham, the son of David Graham a West India merchant and co-owner of Graham, Milne & Co who owned a c ...

Publications

*A Book of Family Prayers (1837)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * 1785 births 1867 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of Glasgow Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub