Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) Scotland's greatest 19th century churchman

Thomas was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Free Church of Scotland and the Church of England. He has been called* Scotland’s greatest 19th century churchman*.

Aged 11 he attended the University of St. Andrews studying mathematics.

January 1799 he was licensed as a preacher.

May, 1803, following further courses of lectures, he was ordained as minister of Kilmany and acted as assistant to the professor of mathematics at St. Andrews.
His mathematics lectures roused enthusiasm but were discontinued by the authorities.so he opened mathematical classes of his own which attracted many students. Also gave lectures on Chemistry. and administered his parish.

1805 unsuccessful in application for professorship in mathematics at University of Edinburgh.

1815 became minister of the Tron church in Glasgow.

His reputation as preacher in Glasgow spread through out the UK.

Read paragraph on Parochial Work.

1823 he accepted the chair of moral philosophy at the University of
St. Andrews.

1828 he was transferred to the chair of Theology at the University of Edinburgh.

1834 he became leader and chairman of the evangelical section of the Scottish Church in the General Assembly which stood for ‘non-intrusionism’
( definition - no minister should be intruded into any parish contrary to the will of the congregation) Also elected fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1835-41 he served as Vice-president f the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1840 unsuccessfully applied for chair of Divinity at the University of Glasgow.

Thomas made a number of appeals as leader and by 1841 , 7 years later when he resigned as convener, £300, 000 had been contributed and 220 new churches built.

1844 he announced a church extension campaign for new building.

1846 became first principal of the Divinity Hall of the Free Church of Scotland.

On Friday,28th May 1847 he returned to his house at Church Hill. On the Saturday he prepared a report and continued in his usual health and spirits and retired to rest. He died on the Sunday. He was discovered lying dead in bed.

His academic years resulted in a prolific literature of various kinds: his writings filled more than 30 volumes.

The Thomas Chalmers Centre in Kirkliston is named after him.

Thomas Chalmers has been correctly called Scotland’s greatest nineteenth century churchman. He was also an outstanding mathematician.

Source
Wikipedia