Penny's poetry pages Wiki
Advertisement

Rev. William Laurence Brown (January 7, 1755 - May 11, 1830) was a Scottish poet and minister.

Life[]

Youth and education[]

Brown was born in Utrecht, Netherlands.. His father was minister of the English church there, but was then appointed professor of ecclesiastical history at the University of St. Andrews, and returned to Scotland in 1757.[1]

William Browne son went to the grammar school at St. Andrews there, and then to the University of St. Andrews.[1]

After passing through the divinity classes, he went in 1774 to the University of Utrecht, where he studied theology and civil law.[1]

Career[]

In 1777 he was appointed to the English church in Utrecht, and about 1788 to the professorship of moral philosophy and ecclesiastical history in the university, to which was soon added the professorship of the law of nature. The war which followed the French Revolution drove Brown in January 1795 to London.[1]

In 1795 the magistrates of Aberdeen appointed him to the chair of divinity, and soon after he was made principal of Marischal College. In the year 1800 he was appointed chaplain in ordinary to the king, and in 1804 Dean of the Chapel Royal.[1]

Recognition[]

His 1793 Essay on the Natural Equality of Men was awarded the Tayler Society's prize.

In 1804 he was appointed to the Order of the Thistle.

His 1826 essay On the Existence of the Supreme Creator was awarded the first Burnet prize of £1250.

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • An Essay on Sensibility: A poem, in six parts. London: G. Nicol, for J. Cooper, 1791.
  • Philemon; or, The progress of virtue: A poem. (2 volumes), Edinburgh: Longman, 1809.

Non-fiction[]

  • A Dissertation on the Folly of Scepticism. London: J. Murray / Edinburgh: W. Creech, 1788.
  • An Essay on the Natural Equality of Man. Edinburgh: T. Duncan/ London: T. Cadell & C. Dilly, 1793.
  • The Spirit of the Times Considered: A sermon. London: J. Murray, 1793.
  • The Influence of the Divine Judgments on the Reformation of the World: A sermon. Utrecht: Utrecht: B. Wild & J. Altheer, 1794.
  • The Death of the Righteous Precious in the Sight of God: A sermon. Aberdeen, UK: A. Brown, for G.G. & J. Richardson, London, & W. Creech, Edinburgh, 1796.
  • The Proper Method of Defending Religious Truth: A sermon. Aberdeen, UK: A. Brown, for G.G. & J. Richardson, London, & W. Creech, Edinburgh, 1796.
  • The Influence of Religion on National Prosperity: A sermon. Aberdeen, UK: A. Brown, for G.G. & J. Richardson, London, 1796.
  • The Nature, the Cause, and the Effects, of Indifference with Regard to Religion: A sermon. Aberdeen, UK: J. Chalmers, 1802.
  • Sermons. Edinburgh: J. Moir, for Archibald Constable & W. Whyte / London: T.N. Longman and O. Rees, 1803.
  • The Advantages of Early Piety: A sermon. Aberdeen, UK: J. Chalmers, 1806.
  • An essay on the Existence of a Supreme Creator. (2 volumes), Aberdeen, UK: T. Hamilton, 1816.
  • A Comparative View of Christianity, and of the other Forms of Religion with regard to their Moral Tendency (2 volumes), Edinburgh: W. Tait, 1826.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[2]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Chisholm 1911.
  2. Search results = au:William Laurence Brown, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 4, 2016.

External links[]

Poems
About
Advertisement