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Leechman, William, 1706-1785, Principal, University of Glasgow, Scotland |
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Biographical Information |
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Occupation, Sphere of Activity |
William Leechman ( 1706-1785), was born in 1706, the son of a farmer of Dolphinton, Lanarkshire, and was educated at the parish school. His father had taken down the quarters of Robert Baillie of Jerviswood, which had been exposed after his execution on the tolbooth of Lanark. In gratitude for this service the Baillie family helped young Leechman to go to the University of Edinburgh to study divinity, where he graduated 16 April 1724. He was tutor to James Geddes, whose posthumous essay, 'The Composition of the Ancients,' he published in 1748. About 1727, he became tutor to William Mure of Caldwell, Ayrshire, a friend of David Hume. The family passed the winters at Glasgow, where he attended the lectures of Francis Hutcheson. In 1731, he was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Paisley, and in 1736, was ordained minister of Beith in the neighbourhood of Caldwell. He was moderator of a synod at Irvine in 1740, and on 7 April 1741 preached a sermon at Glasgow 'on the character of a minister of the gospel,' which was published, and passed through several editions. In 1743, he was appointed Professor of divinity at Glasgow. The presbytery of Glasgow refused to enrol him, alleging that he had made heretical statements in a sermon published in 1743 'On the Nature, Reasonableness, and Advantages of Prayer.' He was accused of laying too little stress upon the merits of the intercession of the Saviour. The synod of Glasgow and Ayr rejected the accusation of the presbytery, and their acquittal was confirmed by the general assembly. Leechman's lectures were popular, and he followed the example first set by Hutcheson of using English instead of Latin. They dealt with polemical divinity, the evidences of Christianity, and the composition of sermons. He refused to publish them. He visited England with his old pupil Geddes in 1744, and made the acquaintance of Dr Price. In 1756, he was appointed Vice-Rector at Glasgow University, and in 1757, he was moderator of the General Assembly. In 1759, he suffered a bout of poor health, and taking a leave of absence from the University, went to Bristol and drank the Clifton waters. In 1761, he was appointed Principal of the University at Glasgow, but for a time continued to lecture. His health continued to be poor, and his average yearly income was small, but he is said to have helped poor students through his acquaintance with distinguished people, and he acquired a small farm at Achinairn, near Glasgow. He had two paralytic strokes in 1785, and died later that year on 3 December 1785. |
Relationships |
Leechman studied divinity at Edinburgh University under Professor William Hamilton. |
Other Significant Information |
On the Nature, Reasonableness, and Advantages of Prayer, ( |
Honours, Qualifications and Appointments |
1736: Minister of Beith 1743: Professor of divinity, University of Glasgow 1756-1761: Vice-Rector, University of Glasgow 1761-1785: Principal, University of Glasgow |
Notes |
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Author and Date of Biographical History |
Personal name authority record compiled for the GASHE project by |