William Turnbull Leach (March 1, 1805 – October 13, 1886) was a Canadian clergyman and academic. Born in

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, England, the son of Robert Leach and Elizabeth Turnbull, Leach was educated in Berwick-upon-Tweed,

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, and received a Master of Arts degree from 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 was licensed as a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

and emigrated to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in the 1830s. Rejecting the Church of Scotland, he was ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in 1843 and was the first incumbent of Montreal's St George's Church. In 1854, he was appointed a canon of Christ Church Cathedral. In 1865 he was named domestic chaplain to the bishop and an

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

. From 1846 to 1853, he started teaching at

McGill College McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University ...

(later McGill University) as a professor of classical literature and lecturer in mathematics and natural philosophy. From 1853 to 1872, he was a lecturer in logic, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. From 1872 to 1883, he was the Molson professor of English language and literature. From 1846 to 1886, he was a fellow and vice-principal. from 1853 to 1886, he was the dean of the Faculty of Arts.

References

* 1805 births 1886 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Anglican archdeacons in North America Canadian Anglican priests Canadian clergy Canadian university and college faculty deans English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Academic staff of McGill University People from Berwick-upon-Tweed Immigrants to Upper Canada {{Canada-clergy-stub