Thomas Liddell (October 18, 1800 – June 11, 1880) was the first Principal of Queen's University, then Queen's College.

Life

Liddell was born in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, Scotland in 1800, the son of John Liddell and his wife Janet Martin. He studied at both

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

and

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 , ...

. He moved from Montrose Chapel of Ease to

Lady Glenorchy's Church Lady Glenorchy's Church or Chapel in Edinburgh was a curious quoad sacra parish church founded in the 18th century, with an unusual history, both due to its enforced relocation caused by the building of Waverley Station and the splitting of the ch ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in December 1831. He worked alongside the elderly Rev

Thomas Snell Jones Thomas Snell Jones (1754–1837) was a senior English-born Presbyterian minister operational in Scotland outwith the Church of Scotland. Life He was born in Gloucester on 11 May 1754. He was orphaned at an early age and cared for by a Wesley ...

. His senior, James Bonar WS, was at this time organising the physical relocation of the church due to the known coming of Waverley Railway Station. Edinburgh University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Divinty in 1841. He left Edinburgh in 1841 to sail to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he was appointed the first Principal of Queen's College, Kingston. Here he worked with only one other member of staff,

Peter Colin Campbell Peter Colin Campbell (1810–1876) was a Scottish clergyman in the Church of Scotland who became the first professor at Queen's University, Canada and was later the first Principal of the University of Aberdeen, a role he held for 21 years. ...

. Due to issues arising from the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...

in Scotland, funding dried up. Liddell resigned in 1846 and returned to Scotland. He was minister of

Lochmaben Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...

in Dumfries and Galloway from 1850 to 1880. He died in

on 11 June 1880.

Family

He was married to Susan Ann Jane Stewart, with whom he had two daughters.

Recognition

A street in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

is named for him.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1800 births 1880 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Principals of Queen's University at Kingston {{Canada-academic-bio-stub