Robert Wallace (1791–1850) was an English Unitarian minister, now best known for his ''Antitrinitarian Biography'' (1850).

Life

He was born at

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, on 26 February 1791. In 1808 he came under the influence of James Hews Bransby, who prepared him for entrance (September 1810) at Manchester College, then at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, under Charles Wellbeloved and John Kenrick. One of his fellow students was Jacob Brettell. Leaving York in 1815, he became minister at Elder Yard, Chesterfield. While here he conducted a private school for sixteen years. He wrote in the ''Monthly Repository'' and the ''Christian Reformer'' on biblical and patristic topics. His review (1834) of John Henry Newman's ''Arians of the Fourth Century'' brought him into correspondence with Thomas Turton. In 1840 Manchester College was moved from York to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and Wallace was appointed to succeed Wellbeloved. He delivered in October his inaugural lecture as professor of critical and exegetical theology. In 1842 he was made principal of the theological department. His theological position was conservative, but he was the first in his denomination to bring to his classroom the processes and results of German critical research. Among his pupils was Philip Pearsall Carpenter. After six years he resigned, and in June 1846 became minister of Trim Street Chapel,

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. He was made visitor of his college, and became a fellow of the Geological Society. He preached for the last time on 10 March 1850, and died at Bath on 13 May. He was buried in the graveyard at Lyncomb, near Bath.

The ''Antitrinitarian Biography''

His ''Antitrinitarian Biography'', (1850, 3 vols.) was the result of nearly 24 years' research. In breadth of treatment and in depth of original research Wallace's work is inferior to that of Thomas Rees (1777–1864), but he deploys a careful array of authorities. He covers more ground than previous writers giving lives and biographies, continental and English, extending from the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

to the early eighteenth century. His introduction deals mainly with the development of opinion in England over that period. A major source was the '' Bibliotheca antitrinitariorum'' of Christopher Sandius.

Family

He was the son of Robert Wallace (d. 17 June 1830) by his wife Phoebe (d.11 March 1837), His father was a pawnbroker; his grandfather was a

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farmer. Two younger brothers joined the Unitarian ministry, viz.: James Cowden Wallace (1793?-1841), Unitarian minister at Totnes (1824-6), York Street, London (1827-8),

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

(1828-9), Preston (1829–31), Wareham (1831–41), who wrote numerous hymns, sixty-four of which are in J. R. Beard's ''Collection of Hymns'', 1837, 12mo; and Charles Wallace (1796–1859), who was educated at Glasgow (M.A. 1817) and Manchester College, York (1817–19), and was minister at

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

and Hale, Cheshire (1829–56). He married (1825) Sophia (d. 31 May 1835), daughter of Michael Lakin of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, by whom he had a daughter, who survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Robert English Unitarians 1791 births 1850 deaths People from Dudley