Alexander Brunton

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". ...

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 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 ...

Life

He was born on 2 October 1772 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

the son of John Brunton a stay-maker living at the Bow Head. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, Edinburgh. He had no formal university training but was licensed by the Presbytery of

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

to preach for the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

in 1796.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott In 1797 he became minister of Bolton, East Lothian east of Edinburgh. In 1803 he was translated to New Greyfriars back in

. In 1809 he moved to the

Tron Kirk 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 ...

on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

in Edinburgh in replacement of Rev Andrew Hunter of Barjarg. In 1813 he was made Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages at the

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. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1814. His proposers were George Dunbar, Macvey Napier, Rev David Ritchie and Alexander Christison. 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 Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn ( ; 26 October 1779 in Cockpen, Midlothian – 26 April/18 July 1854 in Bonaly, Midlothian) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 183 ...

. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1821. He was elected

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

in 1823. He was convenor of the Indian Mission Committee from that year. He retired in 1847 due to ill health. In his final years in Edinburgh (his wife being dead) he had lived in rooms at Old College. 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.

Family

In December 1798 he was married to the eminent author Mary Balfour. 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.

Artistic recognition

Brunton was sketched shaking hands with the Rev John Hunter by John Kay. His portrait by

John Watson Gordon Sir John Watson Gordon (1788 – 1 June 1864) was a Scottish Portrait painting, portrait painter and president of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Gordon was born in 1788, in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Captain Watson, R.A., a cadet ...

is held in the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

In fiction

Alexander Brunton features as a character in Sara Sheridan's novel, ''The Fair Botanists''.Sheridan, Sara (2021), ''The Fair Botanists'', Hodder & Stoughton,

Publications

*Extracts from the Books of the Old Testament (1814 plus later editions) *Sermons and Lectures (1818) *Memoir of Mrs Brunton (1819) *Outlines of Persian Grammar (1822) *Sermon Preached on the Death of Dr Inglis (1834) *Outlines of a Speech for the Commission of an Assembly (1843) *Forms for Public Worship in the Church of Scotland (1848)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunton, Alexander 1772 births 1854 deaths Clergy from Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 18th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London