Daniel Dewar (1788–1867) was a

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 ...

minister who served as the final principal of

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

from 1832 to 1860. He was a major contributor to the first Gaelic dictionary. He was father-in-law to

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...

Life

Dewar was born in

Glen Dochart Glen Dochart () in Perthshire, Scottish Highlands is a glen which runs from Crianlarich eastwards to Killin, following the course of the River Dochart as it flows through Loch Dochart and Loch Iubhair. It is met by Glen Ogle () at Lix Toll. Loc ...

in 1788. He was educated at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and Homerton Independent Academy in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...

. He concluded his studies 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 ...

graduating with an MA in 1815.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott In November 1812 he was licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

. In September 1813 he was ordained as missionary to

Strontian Strontian (; ) is the main village in Sunart, an area in western Lochaber, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland, on the A861 road. Prior to 1975 it was part of Argyllshire. It lies on the north shore of Loch Sunart, close to the head of th ...

. In July 1814 he was given the post as minister of Greyfriars Church, Aberdeen. In May 1817 he began the additional role as Professor of Moral Philosophy at

. The College physically adjoins Greyfriars Church. The University of Glasgow awarded him two honorary doctorates, and LLD in 1815 and a DD in 1832. In August 1819 he translated to Tron Kirk, Glasgow. He left in 1832 to take up the position of Principal of Marischal College in place of

William Laurence Brown William Laurence Brown (7 January 175511 May 1830) was a Scottish minister. Life Brown was born in Utrecht (city), Utrecht in the Netherlands. His father, William Brown, was minister of the English church there, but was then appointed profes ...

, jointly having the role as Professor of Church History. Although being heavily involved in the lead up to 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 ...

he ultimately remained in the established church. From 1855 to 1858 he corresponded with Sir

Austen Layard Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...

. He demoted his roles in 1860 when Marischal College merged with

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

to create 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 ...

. He purchased the estate of Over Durdie in

Kilspindie Kilspindie is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated on the Kilspindie burn, approximately northwest of Errol, west of Dundee centre and east of Perth. The village has an area of of which are arable land and are woodlan ...

and retired there, dying on 28 May 1867.

Family

In September 1821 he married Susan Place (d.1876), daughter of Edward Place of Skelton Grange, Yorkshire. They had several children: *Ann Gordon Dewar (b.1822) married John McCunn of Ardhallow in

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

* Katherine Mary Dewar (1824-1886), married scientist

*Susan Place Dewar (b.1825) *Edward Place Dewar (b.1827), minister of Auchtergaven *William Gordon Dewar (b.1829) *Donald Dewar (b.1831), minister of

Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon () is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotland. It is in the ancient region of Formartine. Its nam ...

*John Dewar (b.1831) twin of above

Artistic recognition

He was portrayed by Samuel Freeman.

Publications

*Observations on the Character, Customs and Superstitions of the Irish (1812) *The Natural State of Man (1816) *A Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (1831) with Rev Norman Macleod

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewar, Daniel 1788 births 1867 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers