Richard Smyth (4 October 1826 – 4 December 1878) was a minister of the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. ...

and politician.

Life

Smyth, son of Hugh Smyth of Bushmills,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, by Sarah Anne, daughter of J. Wray, was born at Dervock, County Antrim, on 4 October 1826. He was educated at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

and 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 ...

, where he graduated M.A. in 1850, and received the honorary D.D. and LL.D. degrees in 1867. For eight years he was assistant-collegiate minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Londonderry, and in 1865 was appointed professor of oriental languages and biblical literature in

Magee College The Ulster University Derry~Londonderry campus, better known as Magee College, is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological ...

, Londonderry. In 1870 he became Dill professor of theology in the same college. He served as Secretary of the College in 1869-70 and as its President in 1873 and 1877-78.Thom's directory of Ireland. 1878, page 814
/ref> He was a supporter of Gladstone's policy of disestablishment in Ireland, and in 1869 was raised to the moderatorship of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church. In 1870 he was re-elected moderator, and took an active part in settling the financial affairs of the church in connection with the withdrawal of the '' Regium Donum''. He was one of the trustees incorporated by royal charter under the Presbyterian Church Act for administering the commutation fund. He supported the Irish University Bill of 1873, and, as a Liberal, was elected member of parliament for

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

on 16 Feb. 1874 to support the general policy of Mr.

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's administration, especially with respect to land tenure and grand jury reform. He sat until his death, which took place at

Antrim Road The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road (Northern Ireland), A6 road, a traffic rou ...

, Belfast, on 4 December 1878 aged 52. He was buried at Dervock on 6 December.

Publications

Besides numerous pamphlets, he was the author of: 1. ‘Philanthropy, Proselytism, and Crime: a Review of the Irish Reformatory System,’ London, 1861, 8vo. 2. ‘The Bartholomew Expulsion in 1662,’ Londonderry, 1862, 18mo.

Notes

References

* ;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Richard 1826 births 1878 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Irish Presbyterian ministers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (1801–1922) Christian clergy from County Antrim University of Bonn alumni UK MPs 1874–1880 Moderators of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Academics of Ulster University Politicians from County Antrim People from Bushmills, County Antrim