William Gray Dixon (1854–1928) was a Scottish Presbyterian minister. Dixon was born in Paisley, Scotland, and studied at

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is an 11–18 non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is the sixth largest secondary school in South Ayr ...

and 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 ...

. In 1876 he was appointed Professor of the English Language and Literature at the

Imperial College of Engineering The Imperial College of Engineering (工部大学校, ''Kōbudaigakkō'') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese institution of higher education that was founded during the Meiji era. The college was established under the auspices of the Ministry of P ...

in Tokyo. Dixon returned to Scotland in 1880, and studied theology at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

. He then moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and was ordained a minister of the

Presbyterian Church of Victoria __NOTOC__ The Presbyterian Church of Victoria is one of the constituent churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It was established in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations. The ...

. He later pastored churches in

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Dixon served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand and lectured at

Knox College, Otago Knox College is a Colleges of the University of Otago, residential college, founded and operated by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and affiliated with the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college is set in a la ...

. Dixon wrote ''The Land of the Morning'' (1882), about Japan, and ''The Romance of the Catholic Presbyterian Church'' (1930), a history of

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, William Gray 1854 births 1928 deaths People from Paisley, Renfrewshire People educated at Ayr Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish emigrants to Australia Academic staff of the University of Tokyo 20th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers 19th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers