Robert Hamilton

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 ...

(19 May 1707 – 3 April 1787) was Professor of Divinity at 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 15 ...

. He served twice 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 ...

and was also a co-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 ...

Life

The Secessionist Church, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh

He was born on 19 May 1707 in

Cramond Cramond Village (; gd, Cathair Amain) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman ac ...

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

, the fourth son of Very Rev William Hamilton (1669–1732), Principal of the

and minister of

Cramond Kirk Cramond Kirk is a church situated in the middle area Cramond parish, in the north west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of an old Roman fort, parts of the Cramond Kirk building date back to the fourteenth century and the church tower is ...

. His mother was Mary Robertson (1675–1760). He was educated at the High School in

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 ...

and then studied Divinity at the

. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1730 and in April 1731 was ordained as minister of his father’s parish at

. In 1736 he was translated to Lady Yester’s Kirk and in December 1750 to Old Greyfriars Kirk on the south edge of the then city. From 1754 to 1779 he served as professor of divinity at the

. The University granted him a doctorate (DD) in 1759. In both 1754 and 1760 he served as

. He was also a Dean of the

Thistle Chapel The Thistle Chapel, located in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, is the chapel of the Order of the Thistle. At the foundation of the Order of the Thistle in 1687, James VII ordered Holyrood Abbey be fitted out as a chapel for the Knight ...

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

. In 1785 he is listed in living in quarters at Old College.Williamson's Directory 1785 He died on 3 April 1787. He is buried in the small cemetery on Buccleuch Street in Edinburgh (built as a relief cemetery to St Cuthbert’s).

Family

He was uncle to Robert Hamilton the economist. In March 1745 he married Jean Hay (1714–1801) daughter of John Hay of Haystoun. Their daughter, Grizel Hamilton, married the eminent Edinburgh surgeon,

Benjamin Bell Benjamin Bell of Hunthill FRSE FRCSEd (6 September 1749 – 5 April 1806) is considered to be the first Scottish scientific surgeon. He is commonly described as the father of the Edinburgh school of surgery,Richardson BWS, Martin MSM. Discipl ...

. Their son Gavin Hamilton

(1755–1829) was a surgeon who spent many years in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A second son Robert Hamilton (1749–1835) was also a surgeon and was also present at the founding of the

in 1783, and serving as President of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

from 1792 to 1794.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Robert 1707 births 1787 deaths Academics from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Clergy from Edinburgh