''For the British colonial administrator, see Alexander Frederick Whyte'' Portrait of Alexander Whyte

Rev Alexander Whyte D.D.,LL.D. (13 January 18366 January 1921) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

. He was

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 ...

of the Free Church of Scotland in 1898.

Life

He was born in

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...

Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...

shire to Janet Thomson, an unmarried girl. Janet declined to marry Alexander's father, John Whyte, who thereafter went to America. She did however give Alexander his father's surname. His mother joined the Free Church of Scotland at the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...

. In 1848 he began an apprenticeship as a

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs shoes * Cobbler (food), a type of pie Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler' ...

. In 1854 he took on a role as schoolteacher at Padanaram in

and the following year moved to teach in Airlie. In Airlie the local minister taught him Latin and Greek, enabling him to apply for university He studied divinity at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

and then at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

graduating in 1866. This was in part funded by his estranged father. His half-sister, Elizabeth Whyte, came to join him from America to help him keep house. There she met his colleague, Rev Thomas Macadam, whom she married. Whyte entered the ministry of the Free Church of Scotland and after serving as colleague in Free St John's,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

(1866–1870), removed to Edinburgh as colleague and successor to Rev Dr Robert Candlish at Free St George's. In 1909 he succeeded Dr Marcus Dods as principal, and professor of

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

literature, at

. He was an active educator and author and published widely on subjects ranging from

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

's ''

Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...

'' to St. Teresa of Avila, John Law, and

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mysticism, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant Theology, theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the L ...

. He was also an ecumenicist, maintaining a cordial correspondence with

Cardinal Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

and publishing a selection of his work. He became a member of the general committee of the recently established Edinburgh Social Union in 1885. Whyte lived in a huge townhouse 7

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

, in Edinburgh's First New Town. The house is now owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

and open to the public as ''

The Georgian House, Edinburgh The Georgian House is an 18th-century townhouse situated at No. 7 Charlotte Square in the heart of the historic New Town of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has been restored and furnished by the National Trust for Scotland, and is operated as ...

''. He retired from the ministry of Free St George's in 1916, and from his position as principal of New College in 1918. He lived in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

from around 1915 and died there. However he was returned to Edinburgh for burial. He is buried near the north-west corner of the first northern extension to

Dean Cemetery 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 o ...

. A memorial to Whyte in St George's Free Church in Edinburgh was designed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, Order of the British Empire, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scotland, Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, f ...

Family

In 1881 he was married to Jane Elizabeth Barbour (1861-1944). Their son Robert Barbour Whyte was killed in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Their eldest son (Alexander) Frederick Whyte was a journalist and politician who received a knighthood. Their daughter

Janet Chance Janet Chance (10 February 1886 – 18 December 1953) was a British feminist writer, sex education advocate and birth control and abortion law reformer. Life Born in Edinburgh, Scotland to Scottish Calvinist minister and New College principal ...

was a feminist author and campaigner for sex education, birth control, and access to abortion.

Honours

In December 1909, the Town Council of Edinburgh awarded him Freedom of the City.

Artistic recognition

He was portrayed by John Moffat and by Sir James Guthrie.

Works

* (1883). ''A Commentary on the Shorter Catechism''. * (1893). ''Characters and Characteristics of

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...

''. * (1893–1908). ''

Characters'' Vols.* (1894). ''

Samuel Rutherford Samuel Rutherford (also Rutherfurd or Rutherfoord; – 29 March 1661) was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theology, theologian and one of the Scottish Commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. Life Samuel Rutherford was born in t ...

and Some of His Correspondents''. * (1895). ''An Appreciation of Jacob Behmen''. * (1895). ''

Lancelot Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chi ...

and his Private Devotions'' * (1895). ''The Four Temperaments''. * (1896–1902). ''Bible Characters'' vols.* (1897). ''Santa Teresa''. * (1898). ''Father John of the Greek Church''. * (1898). ''The Principles of Protestantism''. * (1898). ''Sir

Thomas Browne Sir Thomas Browne ( "brown"; 19 October 160519 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a d ...

, an Appreciation''. * (1898). ''An Appreciation of Browne's Religio Medici''. * (1901). ''Newman: An Appreciation in Two Lectures''. * (1903). '' Bishop Butler''. * (1903). ''The Apostle Paul''. * (1905). ''The Walk, Conversation and Character of Jesus Christ Our Lord''. * (1911). ''James Fraser, Laird of Brea''. * (1915). ''Thirteen Appreciations''.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Biography and works of Alexander Whyte
at the

Christian Classics Ethereal Library The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a p ...

* * *
Works by Alexander Whyte
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, Alexander 1836 births 1921 deaths Scottish Christian theologians Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Edinburgh People from Kirriemuir