William Roby Fletcher (6 April 1833 – 5 June 1894), commonly known as Roby Fletcher or W. Roby Fletcher, was a Congregational minister and vice-chancellor of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. Fletcher was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. He was the son of the Rev. Richard Fletcher, a well-known Congregational minister who ministered in Manchester and later in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, where he died in 1861. Fletcher was educated at Silcoates School in Yorkshire, and in 1849 entered the University of Bonn, followed in 1850 by the

Lancashire Independent College The British Muslim Heritage Centre, formerly the GMB National College, College Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, England, is an early Gothic Revival building. The centre was designated a Grade II* listed building on 3 October 1974. History a ...

and

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...

(later Victoria University, Manchester). He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from London University in 1853 and in the following year received the London University prize for the scripture examination. In 1856 he graduated Master of Arts and won the gold medal. He soon sailed for

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and ultimately went to Victoria where he acted as his father's assistant in St Kilda and Sandhurst (now Bendigo). In 1866 he removed to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Melbourne, and was appointed a professor at the Congregational College of Victoria. After a tour around the world he became the minister of Stow Memorial Church in Adelaide in March 1876, and filled that position with marked success until 1890, when he resigned to undertake further travel. From 1878 he was a member of the council of the

, of which he was made an honorary M.A. in 1877. During the last illness of Professor Davidson, and subsequent to his death, Fletcher was the acting Hughes Professor of English Language and Literature and Mental and Moral Philosophy. In 1890 he was elected vice-chancellor of the university.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, William Roby 1833 births 1894 deaths Clergy from Manchester People educated at Silcoates School University of Bonn alumni Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester English emigrants to colonial Australia Australian Congregationalist ministers Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Vice-chancellors of the University of Adelaide