Sir Alexander Grant, 10th Baronet,

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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(23 September 1826 – 30 November 1884) was a British landowner and historian who served as Principal of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

from 1868 to 1884. He had strong links to India, especially

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Biography

Early life

He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of Sir Robert Innes Grant, 9th Baronet of Dalvey, and his wife, Judith Towers Battelle. His early education took place in America and the family then returned to Britain. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

from 1839 to 1845 then went to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

graduating BA in 1848 and MA in 1852. He made a special study of the Aristotelian philosophy, and in 1857 published an edition of ''The Ethics of Aristotle: Illustrated with Essays and Notes'' (4th ed. 1885) which became a standard text-book at Oxford. In 1855 he was one of the examiners for the Indian Civil Service, and in 1856 a public examiner in

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at Oxford. His father became 9th Baronet of Dalvey in 1854 on the death of his brother, Sir Alexander Grant, 8th Baronet. When his father died in 1856 Alexander became the 10th baronet.

India

In 1859 he went to

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with Sir Charles Trevelyan, and was appointed inspector of schools; the next year he moved to

, to fill the post of

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of History and Political Economy in the Elphinstone College. Of this he became Principal in 1862; and, a year later, vice-chancellor of Bombay University, a post he held from 1863 to 1865 and again from 1865 to 1868. In 1865 he was appointed Director of Public Instruction for Bombay. In 1866 he served as Vice Chancellor of Bombay University. In 1868 he was appointed a Member of the Bombay Legislative Council.

Edinburgh and final years

In 1868, upon the death of Sir

David Brewster Sir David Brewster Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order, KH President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE Fellow of the Royal Society of London, FRS Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA Scot Fellow of the Scottish Society of ...

, he was appointed Principal of Edinburgh University. From that time till his death, much of his energies were devoted to the well-being of the University. The institution of the new medical school in the University (at Teviot Place) was almost solely due to his initiative; and the Tercentenary Festival, celebrated in 1884, was the result of his enthusiasm. In that year he published ''The Story of the University of Edinburgh during its First Three Hundred Years''. In 1869 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposer being Sir Robert Christison. He twice served as Vice President of the Society: 1870 to 1874 and 1876 to 1881. From 1872 (following the Scottish Education Act of that year) he was a Member of the Board of Education, overseeing a huge programme of school construction across Scotland. He sat on the board until 1878, by which time the construction period was drawing to an end. From 1875 until his death in 1884 he served as the inaugural vice-president of the newly emerged conservationist body the Cockburn Association. He died at his Edinburgh address of 21 Lansdowne Crescent in the west end of the city. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in western

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Honorary degrees

* 1865 – Honorary LLD, Edinburgh University * 1880 – Honorary DCL,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

* 1882 – Honorary Fellow, Oriel College

Family

In 1859 Grant was married to Susan Ferrier, daughter of James Frederick Ferrier. They had eight children. Their two first sons died in infancy. The six remaining children were: * Sir Ludovic James Grant, 11th Baronet (1862-1936) *Julia Mary Grant (1864-1952) *Sylvia Grant (1867-1935) *Dr Percy Frere Grant (1869-1909) * Sir Hamilton Grant, 12th Baronet (1872-1937) *Susan Ferrier Grant (1873-1968)

Personal life

A keen golfer, Grant was a regular at the Elie Golf Club and was caddied by a young Archie Simpson for many years, his favourite.

Recognition

Grant is remembered at the

to this day with two buildings named after him: Grant House in Pollock Halls of Residence, and the Grant Institute (Geology).

References

External links

* Sir Alexander Grant, ''The Ethics of Aristotle: Illustrated with Essays and Notes''
Vol.1
4th ed. 1885
Vol.2
3rd ed. 1874 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Alexander 1826 births 1884 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 210 People educated at Harrow School Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Principals of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Bombay Legislative Council