The Regius Chair of Rhetoric and English Literature at 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 ...

was established in 1762 (as the Regius Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres). It is arguably the first professorship of English Literature established anywhere in the world. Its first holder was Professor

Hugh Blair Hugh Blair FRSE (7 April 1718 – 27 December 1800) was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse. As a minister of the Church of Scotland, and occupant of the C ...

List of Regius Professors of Rhetoric and English Literature

(1762 to 1784)Winifred Bryan Horner, ''Nineteenth-Century Scottish Rhetoric: The American Connection'' (Carbondale and Edwardsville:

Southern Illinois University Press Southern Illinois University Press or SIU Press, founded in 1956, is a university press located in Carbondale, Illinois, owned and operated by Southern Illinois University. The press publishes approximately 50 titles annually, among its more th ...

, 1993), pp. 60–62. *

William Greenfield William Greenfield (died 6 December 1315) served as both the Lord Chancellor of England and the Archbishop of York. He was also known as William of Greenfield. Early life Greenfield was born in the eponymous Lincolnshire hamlet of Greenfield. ...

(1784 to 1798) *Hugh Blair (reversion, 1798 to 1801) * Andrew Brown (1801 to 1834) * George Moir (1835 to 1840) * William Spalding (1840 to 1845) *

William Edmonstoune Aytoun William Edmondstoune "W. E." Aytoun FRSE (21 June 18134 August 1865) was a Scottish poet, lawyer by training, and professor of rhetoric and belles lettres at the University of Edinburgh. He published poetry, translation, prose fiction, criticis ...

(1845 to 1865)G. G. Smith, rev. Sondra Miley Cooney
"Masson, David Mather"
''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2010). Retrieved 24 March 2021. * David Mather Masson (1865 to 1895) *

George Saintsbury George Edward Bateman Saintsbury, FBA (23 October 1845 – 28 January 1933), was an English critic, literary historian, editor, teacher, and wine connoisseur. He is regarded as a highly influential critic of the late 19th and early 20th cent ...

(1895 to 1915)
The Edinburgh Gazette
', 21 September 1915 (issue 12854), p. 1458. *

Herbert John Clifford Grierson Sir Herbert John Clifford Grierson, FBA (16 January 1866 – 19 February 1960) was a Scottish literary scholar, editor, and literary critic. Life and work He was born in Lerwick, Shetland, on 16 January 1866. He was the son of Andrew John Grie ...

(1915 to 1935) *

John Dover Wilson John Dover Wilson (13 July 1881 – 15 January 1969) was a professor and scholar of Renaissance drama, focusing particularly on the work of William Shakespeare. Born at Mortlake (then in Surrey, now in Greater London), he attended Lancing Coll ...

(1935 to 1945) * William Lindsay Renwick (1945 to 1959) *

John Everett Butt John Everett Butt, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (12 April 1906 – 22 November 1965) was an English literary scholar, known for his work on Alexander Pope. He was Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinbu ...

(1959 to 1965) * Harold Jenkins (1966 to 1971) *

Alastair David Shaw Fowler Alastair David Shaw Fowler CBE FBA (1930 – 9 October 2022) was a Scottish literary critic, editor, and an authority on Edmund Spenser, Renaissance literature, genre theory, and numerology. Life and career Alastair Fowler was born in Glasgow, ...

(1971 to 1984) *''Vacant'' (1984 to 1990)
The London Gazette
', 1 June 1990 (issue 52156), p. 9975. *

Charles Ian Edward Donaldson Charles Ian Edward Donaldson, FBA, FRSE, FAHA (6 May 1935 – 18 March 2020), commonly known as Ian Donaldson, was an Australian literary scholar who specialised in the playwright, poet and actor Ben Jonson. Educated at the University of Mel ...

(1990 to 1995) *

John Anthony Frow John Frow (born 13 November 1948 in Coonabarabran, Australia) is an Australian writer of literary theory, narrative theory, intellectual property law, and cultural studies. He is currently a professor of English at the University of Sydney. ...

(2000 to 2004) *''Vacant'' (2004 to 2007) *

Laura Marcus Laura Marcus FBA (7 March 1956 – 22 September 2021) was a British literature scholar. She was Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature at New College, Oxford and published widely on 19th- and 20th-century literature and film, with particu ...

(2007 to 2009) * Greg Walker (2010 to present); incumbent

References

http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/gwalker5 http://ourhistory.is.ed.ac.uk/index.php/Foundation_of_Chair_of_Rhetoric_and_Belles_Lettres,_1760 {{University of Edinburgh Rhetoric and English Literature Professorships in literature Professorships at the University of Edinburgh

List of Regius Professors of Rhetoric and English Literature

See also

References