Thomas Hamilton PC (Ire) (28 August 1842 – 18 May 1926) was a

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

clergyman and academician who served as president of

Queen's College, Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

and subsequently

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the

Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

after its creation in 1908.''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to ...

'', vol II, 1916−1928 (third edition, 1962). London: Adam & Charles Black. A native of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

, Hamilton was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, Queen's College, Belfast and

Queen's University of Ireland The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the ''Queen's Colleges'' of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university e ...

. He became president of Queens College, Belfast in 1889 and, after nineteen years in that position, was appointed to the office of vice-chancellor when the expanded institution was granted university status. He served in this post for another fifteen years, until 1923. He was also the author of a number of historical and ecclesiastical studies, including the 1886 ''History of the

Irish Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

'', and wrote myriad entries for the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. As a prominent unionist, he was appointed, at the age of 78, to the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in the 1921 New Year Honours, entitling him to the style "The Right Honourable". He was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

degree by 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 ...

, and an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ( ...

degree by the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...

, of which he had been a Senator for many years. In 1876, Hamilton married Frances Allen (died 4 May 1925) and was the father of a son and two daughters. He died in Belfast at the age of 83.

References

External links

Thomas Hamilton entry in the ''Dictionary of Ulster Biography''McMahon, Timothy G. "'All creeda and all classes'? Just who made up the Gaelic League?", ''Journal of Irish Studies'', Fall-Winter, 2002Description of the institutional archive of Queen's College Belfast which includes collections of papers and memorabilia of the Rev. Thomas Hamilton (the year of death is erroneously indicated as 1925)"Gregson joins distinguished list of academics − a history of Queen's Vice-Chancellors" (9 January 2004 Queen's University Belfast press release)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Thomas 1842 births 1926 deaths Educators from Northern Ireland Historians from Northern Ireland People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Academics of Queen's University Belfast Vice-Chancellors of Queen's University Belfast Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Clergy from Belfast Presbyterian ministers from Northern Ireland Male writers from Northern Ireland