Alexander Gerard

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1728 –1795) was a Scottish minister, academic and philosophical writer. In 1764 he was the

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

Life

Greyfriars (John Knox) Kirk, Broad Street, Aberdeen

He was born on 22 February 1728, the son of Gilbert Gerard (died 1738), at the manse in

Garioch Garioch ( sco, The Geerie, , gd, Gairbheach) is one of six committee areas in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It has a population of 46,254 (2006 estimate), which gives it the largest population of Aberdeenshire's six committee areas. The Garioch con ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

. He attended

Foveran Foveran ( gd, Fobharan) is the name of both a parish and village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village is located north of Aberdeen and southeast of Ellon; the main group of houses and the village school are located adjacent to the main A90 ...

Parish School then

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

. He went to the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, graduating with an MA in 1744. He then went to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

to study divinity. He was licensed to preach in 1748. In 1750 he returned to the University of Aberdeen to lecture in moral philosophy, becoming a professor in 1752, based at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on lon ...

. From 1760 to 1769 he was minister of Greyfriars Church in Aberdeen and in 1769 was elected Professor of Divinity at Marischal College, moving in 1771 to King's College. As a professor he introduced various reforms. During this time he was also one of the ministers of the city, serving at Greyfriars Church.William (1910) He was a member of the Aberdeen Philosophical Society, founded by John Gregory and including members such as Prof Thomas Gordon. In 1783 he was a joint founder of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. He died on 22 January 1795. He is buried in the churchyard of St Machar's Cathedral in

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...

. The grave lies near the south east corner of the eastern cathedral enclosure.

Publications

*In 1756 he gained the prize for an ''Essay on Taste'' which, together with an ''Essay on Genius'', he subsequently published. These treatises, though now superseded, gained for him considerable reputation. *''Compendious View of the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion'' the joint work by Alexander Gerard and his son Gilbert Gerard, published 1828.Lee, "Gilbert Gerard"
p. 488
(see also main article xxi 220) *A Plan of Education in

Family

In June 1757 he married Jane Wight daughter of Dr John Wight of Colnae. They had several children: Gilbert Gerard was his son.

References

* Lee, Sidney (1903),

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

br>Index and Epitome
;Attribution * 1728 births 1795 deaths Scottish philosophers People of the Scottish Enlightenment Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Aberdeen 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Scottish essayists Enlightenment philosophers Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People from Aberdeenshire People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh {{UK-philosopher-stub