Alexander Brunton FRSE FSA (2 October 1772 - 9 February 1854) was a Scottish minister in the Church of Scotland who rose to its highest rank, Moderator of the General Assembly in 1823. He was a noted academic, as Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at the University of Edinburgh.
He was born on 2 October 1772 in Edinburgh the son of John Brunton a stay-maker living at the Bow Head. [1] He was educated at the High School, Edinburgh. He had no formal university training but was licensed by the Presbytery of Linlithgow to preach for the Church of Scotland in 1796. [2]
In 1797 he became minister of Bolton, East Lothian east of Edinburgh. In 1803 he was translated to New Greyfriars back in Edinburgh. In 1809 he moved to the Tron Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh in replacement of Rev Andrew Hunter of Barjarg. [2]
In 1813 he was made Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at the University of Edinburgh serving in this role until 1847. The University appointed him University Librarian in 1822 and he served in this role until death. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) by the University in December 1814. [3]
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1814. His proposers were George Dunbar, Macvey Napier, Rev David Ritchie and Alexander Christison. [4]
In 1814 he is noted as sitting on the Committee of the Caledonian Horticultural Society, alongside Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey and Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn. [5]
He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1821. [6] He was elected Moderator of the General Assembly in 1823. He was convenor of the Indian Mission Committee from that year. He retired in 1847 due to ill health. [2] In his final years in Edinburgh (his wife being dead) he had lived in rooms at Old College. [7]
He died in Coupar Angus on 9 February 1854. He is buried with Mary in the Canongate Kirkyard in edinburgh. The grave lies midway along the western boundary wall. His position at the Tron was filled by Rev Maxwell Nicholson.
In December 1798 he was married to the eminent author Mary Balfour. [8]
In 1818 his wife Mary died during childbirth. The child was still-born. At this time they lived at 35 Albany Street in Edinburgh's New Town. [9]
Brunton was sketched shaking hands with the Rev John Hunter by John Kay. [10]
His portrait by John Watson Gordon is held in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Alexander Brunton features as a character in Sara Sheridan's novel, The Fair Botanists'. [11]
The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on its west by the Dean Gallery. A 20th-century extension lies detached from the main cemetery to the north of Ravelston Terrace. The main cemetery is accessible through the main gate on its east side, through a "grace and favour" access door from the grounds of Dean Gallery and from Ravelston Terrace. The modern extension is only accessible at the junction of Dean Path and Queensferry Road.
Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1830 and 1834.
Archibald David Constable was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer.
Mary Brunton was a Scottish novelist, whose work has been seen as redefining femininity. Fay Weldon praised Brunton's writings as "rich in invention, ripe with incident, shrewd in comment, and erotic in intention and fact."
The Grange is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hill to the south. It is a conservation area characterised by large early Victorian stone-built villas and mansions, often with very large gardens. The Grange was built mainly between 1830 and 1890, and the area represented the idealisation of country living within an urban setting.
The Tron Kirk is a former principal parish church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a well-known landmark on the Royal Mile. It was built in the 17th century and closed as a church in 1952. Having stood empty for over fifty years, it was used as a tourist information centre for several years in the mid 2000s and, more recently, was the site of the Edinburgh World Heritage Exhibition and John Kay’s book and gift shop.
John Hope PC FRSE (1794–1858) was a Scottish judge and landowner.
Andrew Hunter of Barjarg FRSE (1743–1809) was a Minister in Edinburgh. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1792, was Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh and a Founding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Robert Haldane FRSE was a British mathematician and minister of the Church of Scotland.
Hugh Murray FRSE FRGS (1779–1846) was a Scottish geographer and author. He is often referred to as Hew Murray.
Andrew Dalzell FRSE (1742–1806) was a Scottish scholar and prominent figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
William Muir FRSE (1787–1869) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1838.
James MacGregor FRSE (1832–1910) was a Scottish minister and philanthropist. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1891. In 1886 he was made Chaplain in Ordinary to Queen Victoria, in 1901 Chaplain to King Edward VII, and in 1910 to King George V, serving three monarchs in all.
George Wishart (1703–1785) was a Scottish minister who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1748. He was also Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the King of England and Dean of the Chapel Royal.
James Sievewright (1783–1852) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland and who served as Moderator of the General Assembly 1847/48.
John Macdonald (1779–1849) was a Scottish minister known in Scotland as the Apostle of the North. He is also remembered for his visits and descriptions of life on St Kilda.
Alexander Laing was a Scottish architect who was mainly involved in house and castle design.
Andrew Grant (1757–1836) was a senior Scottish minister in the 19th century who became Chaplain in Ordinary to King George III, George IV and William IV in Scotland and Dean of the Chapel Royal. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1808.
John Campbell (1758–1828) was a Church of Scotland minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1818.
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