John Lee (university principal)
| John Lee | |
|---|---|
John Lee, around 1850.
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| Born |
23 November 1779 Torwoodlee-Mains |
| Died | 2 May 1859 (aged 79) Edinburgh |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Principal of the University of Edinburgh |
Very Rev John Lee, D.D. (22 November 1779 – 2 May 1859) was a Scottish academic and polymath, the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1840 to 1859. He was also a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Lee House in Pollock Halls of Residence is named after him.
He was born at Torwoodlee-Mains, in the parish of Stow, on 22 November 1779. He attended school in Clovenfords.
He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1794, studying Medicine, supporting himself by teaching. He graduated M.D. in 1801. After serving for a short time as a surgeon/apothecary in an army hospital service he started studying law. But in 1804 he became amanuensis (literary assistant) to the Rev. Alexander Carlyle in Inveresk (who gave him the manuscript of his autobiography on his death in 1805).
Lee was licensed as a preacher in 1807, and after acting for a few months as pastor of a Presbyterian chapel in London he was ordained as minister of Peebles. In 1812 he was appointed Professor of Church History at St Mary's College, St Andrews, and was there chosen rector of the college. In 1820 he became Professor of Moral Philosophy in King's College, Aberdeen, but his lectures there were mostly delivered by a deputy. He continued to lecture in St Andrews, intending to travel regularly between the two, however, he had a change of heart following a near-fatal accident when his stage-coach overturned en route to Aberdeen.
Therefore, in 1821 Lee resigned both professorships and, aided by the granting of a Doctor of Divinity from St Andrews University, accepted a position as minister of the Canongate Church in Edinburgh. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1822, his proposer being George Forbes. He served as their Literary Councillor 1823-6 and as the Vice-President 1842-1859.
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