The Regius Chair of Rhetoric and English Literature at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
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.
List of Regius Professors of Rhetoric and English Literature
*
Hugh Blair (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 tha ...
, 1993), pp. 60–62.
*
William 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 (1845 to 1865)
[G. G. Smith, rev. Sondra Miley Cooney]
"Masson, David Mather"
''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' (online ed., Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2010). Retrieved 24 March 2021.
*
David Mather Masson (1865 to 1895)
*
George Saintsbury (1895 to 1915)
The Edinburgh Gazette
', 21 September 1915 (issue 12854), p. 1458.
*
Herbert John Clifford Grierson (1915 to 1935)
*
John Dover Wilson
John Dover Wilson CH (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 ...
(1935 to 1945)
*
William Lindsay Renwick
William Lindsay Renwick (6 January 1889 – 25 November 1970) was Professor of English Literature at Durham University from 1921 to 1945 and Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh from 1945 to 195 ...
(1945 to 1959)
*
John Everett Butt (1959 to 1965)
*
Harold Jenkins (1966 to 1971)
*
Alastair David Shaw Fowler (1971 to 1984)
*''Vacant'' (1984 to 1990)
The London Gazette
', 1 June 1990 (issue 52156), p. 9975.
*
Charles Ian Edward Donaldson (1990 to 1995)
*
John Anthony Frow (2000 to 2004)
*''Vacant'' (2004 to 2007)
*
Laura Marcus (2007 to 2009)
*
Greg Walker (2010 to present); incumbent
[ ]
See also
*
Regius Professor
*
University of Edinburgh School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
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