Hugh Watt (12 December 1879 – 5 September 1968) was a Scottish minister and historian. He 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 1950. He was president of the Scottish Church History Society 1938 to 1941.

Life

He was born on 12 December 1879 at Knocklandside near

Kilmaurs Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census recorde ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, the son of John Watt (1849–1930) and his wife Agnes Taylor Dickie. He is thought to have studied divinity at

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

and was living in the

Bearsden Bearsden () is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately from Glasgow city centre, Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with t ...

district in 1914 with his wife and first child. In 1919 he was appointed professor of church history at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Student ...

. He became principal of the college in 1946 and retired in 1950. He succeeded Very Rev George Simpson Duncan as moderator in 1950 and in turn was succeeded by Very Rev

William White Anderson William White Anderson MC (1888–1956) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1951. He was Chaplain in Scotland to both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Life He was born o ...

in 1951. He died in Edinburgh on 5 September 1968 aged 88.

Family

Around 1910 Watt married Mary Smith Taylor, and they had three children. His daughter Nancy Watt became one of the first female elders of the Church of Scotland in 1967.

Publications

*''

: A Centenary History'' (1946) *''Representative Churchmen of Twenty Centuries'' *''

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...

and the Disruption'' *''

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

in Controversy'' *''Recalling the Scottish Covenants'' (1946)

References

1879 births 1968 deaths People from Kilmaurs Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Scottish clergy 20th-century Scottish clergy {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub