David Stow Adam (9 February 1859 – 31 January 1925) was a Scottish minister and professor. David was born near

Langside Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-clas ...

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 ...

to George Adam and Jane (), both schoolteachers. He matriculated to 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 ...

in 1874, receiving a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1881 and a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

in 1884. He also studied at Erlangen University. Between 1881 and 1884, he taught logic and metaphysics at the University of Glasgow, later teaching Hebrew at Free Church Training College between 1885 and 1886. In 1886, Adam was ordained a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. In 1907 he was appointed chair of systematic theology and church history at

Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. H ...

, being inducted on 11 March. Following his appointment, the college adopted a more progressive approach. A pioneer in Australian

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, he was elected president of the

Council of Churches in Victoria Victorian Council of Churches was a body composed of leaders from the evangelical Christian churches of the colony or state of Victoria, Australia. It was formed to present a unified front to influence public discourse and government policy, and als ...

in 1910. He was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree from the University of Glasgow on 25 June 1912. In 1916, Adam served as a Chaplain 4th Class of the Hospital Transport Corps in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

. In 1924, he left Australia with his wife in order to see his daughter in China; he also planned to see Christianity in Asia. While in Canton, China, he contracted typhoid fever and pneumonia, dying on 31 January 1925.

Family

Adam married Grace Paterson in 1890; they had five sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, David Stow 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Academics from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Glasgow Academic staff of the University of Melbourne 19th-century Scottish theologians 1859 births 1925 deaths