George Husband Baird

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". ...

FSAScot (13 July 1761 – 14 January 1840) was a Scottish minister, educational reformer, linguist and the

Principal of the University of Edinburgh Principals of the University of Edinburgh * 1586 Robert Rollock (Regent from 1583 to 1586) * 1599 Henry Charteris * 1620 Patrick Sands * 1622 Robert Boyd * 1623 John Adamson (died in office in 1652 but the original successor, William Co ...

from 1793 to 1840. In 1800 he served as Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly.

Early life

Baird was born in 1761 at Inveravon Farm in the parish of

Bo'ness Borrowstounness, commonly known as Bo'ness ( ), is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

. His father, James Baird, a landowner in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

, at that time rented this farm from the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

. Baird attended the parish school in

, before being sent to the grammar school at

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 ...

. At age 12, Baird entered

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

as a student in

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

(Latin and Greek). There he made some independent linguistic researches, with James Finlayson and Josiah Walker. To pay for his university studies he became tutor to the family of Colonel Blair of Blair in 1784. He was licensed to preach as 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 in 1786 by the Presbytery of

. He graduated MA from Edinburgh University in March 1787 aged 25.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott

Career

Baird was ordained minister of

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

in April 1787, soon after his graduation. In 1789 he declined an offer of

Lady Yester's Church Lady Yester's Kirk was a parish church of the Church of Scotland and one of the burgh churches of Edinburgh. Founded in 1647, it served the south-eastern part of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town until its union with Greyfriars Kirk in 19 ...

in Edinburgh but accepted the offer of New Greyfriars, Edinburgh in 1792 (with Rev John Erskine in the linked church of Old Greyfriars). In the same year he became Joint

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Hebrew and Semitic Languages in

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 ...

. In 1793, aged 33, he was appointed Principal of the University, and served in this role until 1840. In 1799 he translated from Greyfriars to the New (West) Kirk in St Giles. His election to a prominent position was said to be a result of the influence of his father-in-law, Thomas Elder of Forneth, the

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

, whose eldest daughter had married Baird some years previously. It is reputed to have been jocularly said that Baird's chief claim to the Principalship was as "Husband" of the Lord Provost's daughter. Nevertheless, Baird held the Principalship for the long period of 47 years. The number of students at the University increased from 1,000 to 2,000 while he held this position and the Old College buildings were completed. In 1810, before these new buildings were built, it was reported that 24 professors shared 11 rooms and two professors had to teach by candlelight even in the middle of the day. In his parallel career in the ministry in 1801 Baird moved from New (West) Parish to the High Kirk parish still within St Giles (it contained four parishes at this time). In 1800, Baird was elected as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

. Baird was the founder and first convenor of the Highlands and Islands committee of the General Assembly. While on this committee he got the General assembly to agree to his project to educate the poor people in the highlands and islands of Scotland - in particular the Celts.

Later years

Towards the close of his life, Baird put much effort into a scheme for the education of the poor in the

Highlands and Islands of Scotland Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa *Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa *Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe ...

. He submitted his proposals to the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

in May 1824. Next year the Assembly gave its sanction to the scheme, and it was launched. Through his influence Andrew Bell, of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, bequeathed £5000 for education in the Highlands of Scotland. Baird was also known as a correspondent of the Scottish poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. After his wife Isabella's death, Baird lived with his daughter Marion and son-in-law Isaac Bayley (1797-1873) at 13

Regent Terrace Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the upper south side of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed ...

(note - the Post Office Directory states 12 Regent Terrace), Edinburgh from 1827.Mitchell, Anne (1993), "The People of Calton Hill",

Mercat Press Mercat Press is an imprint of the Edinburgh, Scotland-based publishing company Birlinn Limited. It was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of the bookseller James Thin, and published facsimile editions of out-of-print Scottish works, such as ...

, James Thin, Edinburgh, . He died there in 1840, and is buried a short distance from the house, at

New Calton Cemetery New Calton Burial Ground is a burial ground in Edinburgh. It was built as an overspill and functional replacement to Old Calton Burial Ground and lies half a mile to its east on Regent Road in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south-east slopes of Ca ...

. A memorial also exists near his family property at Manuel near Linlithgow, in Muiravonside Churchyard.

Family

In August 1792 he married Isabella Elder eldest daughter of Thomas Elder the Lord Provost of the city. They had children: *Emelia Husband Baird (b.1793) died in infancy *Thomas Elder Baird (1795-1876) an advocate *Marion Spottiswood Baird (b.1796) married Isaac Bayley of Manuel SSC in 1823. Their daughter Marion Spottiswood Bayley was mother to

Isaac Bayley Balfour Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (31 March 1853 – 30 November 1922) was a Scottish botanist. He was Regius Prof ...

*James Baird (1799-1823) *Emelia Husband Baird (1801-1824)

Legacy

* Baird House in

Pollock Halls of Residence Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. '' Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the United Ki ...

is named after him.

Publications

*The Universal Propagation and Influence of the Christian Religion (1795) only 48 copies printed *The Poems of Michael Bruce (1799)

References

External links

Portrait of Baird in the National Portrait Gallery

Robert Burns Country

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, George Husband 1761 births 1840 deaths 18th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers People from Bo'ness Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Principals of the University of Edinburgh Scottish educational theorists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Linguists from Scotland Scottish agronomists Scottish antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Burials at the New Calton Burial Ground