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William Dickson Edit Profile

president professor

William Purdie Dickson was a Scottish professor of divinity at the University of Glasgow from 1873 to 1895.

Background

William Purdie Dickson was born 22 October 1823 in Pettinain, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the son of George Dickson, a minister in Kilrenny, Fife, Scotland.

Education

The younger Dickson attended Lanark School and Saint Andrews University.

Career

The is named in his honor. He was ordained in Cameron, Fife, Scotland, on 9 September 1851 and received his Doctor of Divinity from Saint Andrews in 1865. In 1863 Dickson came to Glasgow, Scotland as the Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow, a position he held until 1873.

From 1873 to 1895 he served as the professor of divinity after which he was succeeded by William Hastie.

Additionally, in 1866 he was also appointed the curator of the University of Glasgow Library. In that capacity he rearranged the entire library inventory into a single alphabetical sequence and produced a complete catalogue and other finding aids.

Dickson also translated several publications during his career, including Theodor Mommsen"s History of Rome and Provinces of the Roman Empire. Dickson was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree from The University of Glasgow in 1896.

Achievements

  • The was founded at The University of Glasgow in 1895 by Dickson and his wife. The prize is awarded annually to the most distinguished student in the College of Divinity.