Robert Forman Horton (18 September 1855 – 1934),

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

, was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Early life and education

Horton was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he was awarded a

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classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He was president of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

in 1877. He became a fellow of his college in 1879, and lectured on history for four years. He was the first non-Anglican to have a teaching position at the Oxford University since the Reformation.

Church role

In 1880 Horton accepted an invitation to become pastor of the Lyndhurst Road

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, and subsequently took a very prominent part in church and denominational work. This included establishing a mission hall for the Hampstead church in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

, known as Lyndhurst Hall. Horton delivered the

Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Bee ...

lectures at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1893. In 1898 he was chairman of the London Congregational Union, and in 1903 he was chair of the

Congregational Union of England and Wales The Congregational Union of England and Wales brought together churches in England and Wales in the Congregational tradition between 1831 and 1966. The Congregational churches emerged from the Puritan movement, each church operating independently ...

. In 1909 he took a prominent part in the 75th anniversary celebration of

Hartford Theological Seminary The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary) is a Private university, private Seminary, theological university in Hartford, Connecticut. History Hartford Seminary's origins date back to 1833 when th ...

. His numerous publications spanned theological, critical, historical, biographical and devotional subjects.

Personal life

Author Mary Beaumont was lifelong friends with Horton. Beaumont and her husband lived with Horton from 1902 until Beaumont's death in 1910.Kaye, Elaine (2004). "Horton, Robert Forman (1855-1934)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. (behind paywall) Retrieved 15 May 2014.

Selected works

* The Courage of Conviction. An address delivered before the Oxford University Nonconformist Union (James Thornton, Oxford, 1882 ) * ''Inspiration and the Bible: An Inquiry'' (T.F. Unwin, 1889) * ''The Book of Proverbs'' (Expositor's Bible series, 1891) * ''Verbum Dei: The Yale Lectures on Preaching'' (Macmillan & Co New York, 1893) * ''Alfred Tennyson: A Saintly Life'' (London J.M. Dent & Co; New York E.F. Dutton & Co, 1900) * ''The Springs of Joy and Other Sermons'' (Fleming H. Revell Company, 1900) * ''The Bible: A Missionary Book'' (Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier, Edinburgh and London, 1904) * ''The Early Church'' (Hodder & Stoughton New York, 1909) * ''Great Issues'' (New York The Macmillan Company, 1909) * "The Teaching of Jesus" (Isbister and Company Limited 1895) * "Woman of The Old Testament" "Studies in Womanhood" (James Nisbet & Co, Limited 1904)

References

External links

Robert Forman Horton photographs
at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Robert 1855 births 1934 deaths Clergy from London People educated at Shrewsbury School Presidents of the Oxford Union Alumni of New College, Oxford Congregationalism English Congregationalist ministers Academics from London English theologians