William Ritchie

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 ...

(1747–29 January 1830) was a Scottish minister who rose to be

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 1801.

Life

He was born late in December 1747 the son of John Ritchie of

Fowlis Wester Fowlis Wester is a small village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is around east of Crieff and west of Perth. The parish of Fowlis Wester includes the Abercairny estate to the south-west. The 13th-century parish church is dedicated to Sain ...

. He was baptised on 3 January 1748. He was educated at the local parish school. He became a schoolteacher at

Newtyle Newtyle is a village in the west of Angus, Scotland. It lies north of Dundee in the southwest of Strathmore, between Hatton Hill and Newtyle ( Heather Hill) in the Sidlaws. The village sits on gently sloping ground with a northwest aspect. T ...

in 1763 and schoolteacher at Fowlis Wester in 1766. He then studied at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He was licensed to preach by the presbytery of

Fordoun Fordoun ( gd, Fordun) (Pronounced "For-Dun") is a parish and village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Fothirdun (possibly "the lower place"), as it was historically known, was an important area in the Howe of the Mearns. Fordoun and Auchenblae, t ...

in 1774. Unable to find a position he became tutor to the family of Lord Inverurie and travelled with him of on a tour of Europe until 1779. Returning to Scotland he declined positions at both Trinity Gask and

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. In 1789 he went on a second Grand Tour, this time with the sons of

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People * Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name *Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...

Auchencruive Auchincruive is a former country house and estate in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located east of Ayr, on the north bank of the River Ayr. Auchincruive House was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier mansion. In 1927, the estate ...

. In 1794 he was ordained as minister of

Tarbolton Tarbolton ( sco, Tarbowton) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is near Failford, Mauchline, Ayr, and Kilmarnock. The old Fail Monastery was nearby and Robert Burns connections are strong, including the Bachelors' Club museum. Meaning o ...

and translated to

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...

in 1798. In 1798 the

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

awarded him an honorary doctorate (DD). In 1801 he succeeded Very Rev

George Husband Baird George Husband Baird FRSE FSAScot (13 July 1761 – 14 January 1840) was a Scottish minister, educational reformer, linguist and the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1793 to 1840. In 1800 he served as Moderator of the Church of Sc ...

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

. In 1802 he was translated to be minister of

St Andrew%27s in the Square St Andrew's in the Square is an 18th-century category-A-listed former church in Glasgow, Scotland, considered one of the finest classical churches in Scotland, and now Glasgow's Centre for Scottish Culture, promoting Scottish music, song and dan ...

in central

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. At this time he lived on Miller Street in

. In 1808 he translated to

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 ...

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 in 1809 he additionally took on the role of 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 lived nearby at 5 Argyll Square (now demolished). He also preached at

. In 1810 he was elected a fellow 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 ...

. His proposers were

Alexander Christison Alexander Christison FRSE (1751–1820) was a Scottish educator and mathematician during the Scottish Enlightenment. Life He was born in 1753, at Redpath House, Longformacus, Berwickshire. He was the eldest of seven children to a tenant shee ...

, Rev Andrew Brown, and Archibald Alison. He retired in 1828 and died unmarried at

on 29 January 1830.

Artistic recognition

His portrait of 1827 by John Sheriff is held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, William 1758 births 1830 deaths Clergy from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers