Memorial to Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick in Ely Cathedral

Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick (25 June 1849 – 22 January 1940) was Regius Professor of Hebrew at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(1882–1903) and the third Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge (1898–1907).

Life

Kirkpatrick was born at Lewes,

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, only son (with three daughters) of Rev. Francis Kirkpatrick, and was educated at Haileybury and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He also served as Canon of Ely (1882–1903),

Dean of Ely The position of Dean of Ely Cathedral, in East Anglia, England, in the Diocese of Ely was created in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The first Dean of Ely had been the last Benedictine prior of Ely. List of deans Early mode ...

(1906 -1936), Examining Chaplain to the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except ...

(1895–1903) and General Editor for

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

and

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

of the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (1892–1929), to which he contributed the commentaries on 1 and 2 Samuel and the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

. In his introduction to the book of Psalms, he observed that "they repeat the whispers of the Spirit of God, they reflect the very light of the Eternal Wisdom". In 1884, Kirkpatrick married Julia Mary (1858-1943), daughter of Rev. J. Pemberton Bartlett, rector of Exbury, Hampshire. They had five sons and a daughter.Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th edition, ed. H. Pirie-Gordon, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1937, p. 2615

References

Regius Professors of Hebrew (Cambridge) 1849 births 1940 deaths People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Masters of Selwyn College, Cambridge Deans of Ely Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity {{UK-academic-bio-stub