Joseph Angus (January 1816 – August 1902) was an English

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister, college head, and biblical scholar.

Life

The only son of John Angus, a farmer and later a leather merchant, by his wife Elizabeth Wanless, he was born at

Bolam, Northumberland Bolam is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Belsay in the county of Northumberland, England. The village is about north-west of Newcastle upon Tyne, near Bolam West Houses. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 60. ...

. His first schooling was at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, under

George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer (22 July 1805 – 7 September 1871) was an English schoolmaster and divine. Biography Mortimer was born on 22 July 1805 at Bishopsteignton in Devonshire. He was the eldest son of William Mortimer, a country gentl ...

, who wanted to send him to Cambridge. As a nonconformist and a member of the Baptist church under Thomas Pengilly at Newcastle, he preferred 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 ...

, where he entered in 1834, after passing a year at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. In 1835, he studied for the Baptist ministry at Stepney College under William Harris Murch. Returning to Edinburgh with a scholarship under Dr. Ward's trust, he graduated M.A. 27 April 1837. In 1838, Angus accepted a call to

New Park Street chapel The New Park Street Chapel, nowadays Metropolitan Tabernacle, was a Particular Baptist chapel in Southwark, London, built in 1833. The church was formed in 1650 and initially was General Baptist. Its first pastor was William Rider, and many notab ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. In 1840, he was appointed colleague to John Dyer in the secretaryship of the

Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission, officially Baptist Missionary Society, is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. The headquarters is in Didcot, England. History The BMS was formed in 1792 as the ''Particular Baptist Societ ...

, and became sole secretary in 1841; there he was a fundraiser, in particular for the mission house in Moorgate Street. In 1849, he became head of Stepney College, which under his presidency moved to

Regent's Park College Regent's Park College (known colloquially within the university as Regent's) is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford, situated in central Oxford, just off St Giles', England, United Kingdom. Founded in 1810, the college move ...

in 1856: he held the post till 1893. The degree of D.D. was conferred on Angus in 1852 by

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. From 1859, he was for ten years examiner in English to

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, and in 1865 to the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission (also known as a Public Service Commission) is a government agency or public body that is established by the constitution, or by the legislature, to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, overse ...

. In 1870, he was appointed on the

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 ...

company for the revision of the King James Bible. He was elected in 1870 for

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

to the first

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) was ...

: In all he spent nearly 12 years on the board: from 1870 to 1873, 1876 to 1882 and 1894 to 1897. As a theologian Angus was conservative; in a debate of 1870 he upheld the doctrine of eternal torment. He died at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

on 28 August 1902, and was buried in

Norwood cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

Angus Library

His collection of books by Baptist authors formed the basis of the Angus Library and Archive. Now housed at

, it is the leading collection of Baptist history and heritage worldwide.

Works

Angus's major works were: * ''The Voluntary System'' (prize essay), 1839.
''Four Lectures on the Advantages of a Classical Education as an auxiliary to a Commercial Education''
1846.
"The Bible Handbook - An Introduction to The Study of Sacred Scripture"
1854 * ''Christian Churches'' (bicentenary prize essay), 1862; 1864. * ''Egypt and the Bible'', 1863. * ''Apostolic Missions'', 1871; 2nd edit. 1892. * ''Man, a Witness for Christianity'', 1872. * ''Popular Commentary on the New Testament'' (Hebrews to Jude), 1883. * ''Six Lectures on Regeneration'' (the Angus Lectureship), 1897. Angus worked on the bibliography of Baptist authors. ''Baptist Authors and History, 1527–1800'', was printed in the ''Baptist Handbook'' in 1894, and issued separately in 1896. As a textbook writer, Angus produced: handbooks to the Bible (1853; 2nd imp. 1907), to the English language (1864; 1868), and to English literature (1866); and editions of

Joseph Butler Joseph Butler (18 May 1692 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 16 June 1752 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Anglican bishop, Christian theology, theologian, apologist, and philosopher, born in Wantage in the English count ...

's ''Analogy and Sermons'' (1855; 2nd edit. 1881) and

Francis Wayland Francis Wayland (March 11, 1796 – September 30, 1865) was an American Baptist minister, educator and economist. He was president of Brown University and pastor of the First Baptist Church in America in Providence, Rhode Island. In Washington ...

's ''Elements of Moral Science'' (1858). All these were published by the

Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerc ...

Family

Angus married on 3 March 1841 Amelia (died 1893), fourth daughter of

William Brodie Gurney William Brodie Gurney (1777–1855) was an English shorthand writer and philanthropist of the 19th century. Biography Gurney was the younger son of Joseph Gurney, a shorthand writer, who died at Walworth, Surrey, in 1815, by a daughter of Will ...

. Of their family of four sons and six daughters, the second son John Mortimer Angus became registrar of the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Angus, Joseph 1816 births 1902 deaths English Baptists British biblical scholars English bibliographers Members of the London School Board English male writers People educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne Baptist biblical scholars English biblical scholars 19th-century Baptists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh