William Laurence Brown Explained

William Laurence Brown (7 January 175511 May 1830) was a Scottish minister.

Life

Brown was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands. His father, William Brown, was minister of the English church there, but was then appointed professor of ecclesiastical history at St Andrews, and therefore returned to Scotland in 1757. Brown went to the grammar school there, and then to the university, graduating MA in 1772. After passing through the divinity classes, in 1774 he went to the University of Utrecht, where he studied theology and civil law.

He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of St Andrews in October 1777 and he was appointed minister the Scots Church in Utrecht in place of his uncle Robert Brown in January 1778. The University awarded him a Doctor of Divinity in 1784. In 1788 he was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy and Law of Nations (International Law) at the University of Utrecht. To this was added the professorship of the law of nature. He was made Rector of the University of Utrecht in 1790. At the threat of French invasion of the Netherlands following the French Revolution Brown and his young family sailed back to Aberdeen in January 1795.

In June 1795 the magistrates of Aberdeen elected him to the post of minister of Greyfriars Church and he was ordained into that post in August 1795[1] at the same time being given the post of Professor of Divinity at Marischal College, which physically adjoins the church. In January 1796 he was made Principal of Marischal College in place of George Campbell. In March 1800 he was appointed Chaplain in Ordinary to the King, and in October 1803 was made Dean of the Chapel Royal, and Dean of the Order of the Thistle Order of the Thistle.

From 1824 to 1828 he was Patron of the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen.[2]

He is buried in the Kirk of St Nicholas on Union Street in Aberdeen.

Family

In May 1786 in Utrecht he married his first cousin, Ann Elizabeth Brown (1764–1844), daughter of Rev Robert Brown of the Scots Church in Utrecht (1728–1777).

Their nine children were:

Selected works

References

Citations
  • Sources

    • Attribution:

    Notes and References

    1. Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae; vol. 5; by Hew Scott
    2. Web site: Patrons . Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen.
    3. Ewing, William Annals of the Free Church of Scotland

    This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "William Laurence Brown".

    Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.