Peter Colin Campbell (1810–1876) was a Scottish clergyman in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

who became the first professor at

Queen's University, Canada Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and owns Herstmonceux Castle in East Susse ...

and was later the first

Principal of the University of Aberdeen The Principal of the University of Aberdeen is the working administrative head of the university, acting as its Chief Executive. He is responsible for the overall running of the university, presiding over the main academic body of the university, t ...

, a role he held for 21 years.

Life

He was born on 21 January 1810 in the manse of

Ardchattan Ardchattan and Muckairn is a civil parish within Argyll and Bute in Scotland. It lies north of Oban, bordering Loch Etive and includes Glen Ure, Glen Creran, Barcaldine, Benderloch, Connel Connel ( Gaelic: ''A' Choingheal'') is a village ...

in Argyleshire, the son of Rev George Campbell, the parish minister. He was educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating with an MA in 1829.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott In 1835 he was licensed to preach as a

minister by the Presbytery of

Inverary Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...

, and sent to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

as minister of St John's Presbyterian Church in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...

. He was one of the 26 co-founders of Queen's University. In 1840 he was officially appointed as its first professor, in the role of Professor of Classics (Latin and Greek) at Queen's University, but not until 1842 did he begin lecturing (alongside

Thomas Liddell Thomas Liddell (October 18, 1800 – June 11, 1880) was the first Principal of Queen's University, then Queen's College. Life Liddell was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland in 1800, the son of John Liddell and his wife Janet Martin. He stud ...

as Principal). He left Queen's in 1844 and returned to Scotland, where he got an appointment as the parish minister of the small

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

village of Caputh in September 1845. He remained in this role until December 1854, when he took the prestigious position as Professor of Greek at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, later rising to be Principal of the University. He lived at 32 College Bounds in

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ...

. He died on 12 December 1876 and is buried in Old Machar Churchyard in

Family

In January 1838 he married Jessie Wylie (1812-1892) daughter of the Hon. James Wylie of Burnside in West Canada. They had six daughters and six sons.''Account of the Clan Iver'', P. C. Campbell, Aberdeen, 1873, p. 80

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Peter Colin 1810 births 1876 deaths Clergy from Argyll and Bute Academics of the University of Aberdeen Principals of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh