William Thomson (d. 1794?)
William Thomson was a former magistrate of Anstruther Wester, in Fife. In a will of 1790, he left £700 to create a Thomson Bursary at the University of St Andrews. He died in 1794 (or 1797), and is commemorated with a…
Category: Donors
Who gave money to the University of St Andrews between 1700 and 1900? This category includes all our known donors, whether or not they have any known links to colonialism and empire.
John Wilkie of Foulden (fl.1720s)
John Wilkie of Foulden was a descendent of Robert Wilkie (c1548-1611), principal of St Leonard’s College in the University of St Andrews. He inherited the rights of presentation to the Wilkie Bursary established by his…
David Baxter (1793-1872)
David Baxter (1793-1872) was born in Dundee to William Baxter (1767-1854) and Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Gorrell (1763-1804). He was one of eight children but often considered ‘one of Dundee’s greatest sons’. Baxter initially…
Subscribers to the Tulloch Memorial Fund
The Tulloch Memorial Fund Scholarship was created from funds raised by a public subscription in 1886, in memory of John Tulloch DD, principal of St Mary’s College. We know nothing about who, or how many people,…
Reflecting on the Berry Bequest (1889), by Tom Jones and Emma Sutton
At his death in 1889, David Berry left £100,000 to the University of St Andrews. At the time, it was by far the largest donation the University had ever received, and it helped the University out of very significant…
David Berry (1795–1889)
David Berry (1795–1889) came from a Cupar farming family, and became Australia’s first millionaire. In 1836, he (and two other brothers and two sisters) emigrated to join their older brother Alexander in New South…
John Hay (1840-1909)
In 1896, John Hay gave £5,000 to enable the University to buy the house known as Scores Park, to become the official residence of the Principal of the University. Hay had become well-known to the University of St…
Margaret Tyndall Bruce (c.1780-1869) of Falkland and India, by Sarah Leith
In March 1828, Susan Elizabeth Low, of Clatto House, near Blebo Craigs, Fife, wrote to her son, Peter Low, with news about a recent marriage in the county: Our great Fife heiress, Miss Bruce of Falkland, is married to…
International businessmen: the firm of Chalmers & Guthrie (1788-1897), by Matthew Ylitalo
The story behind the Guthrie Scholarship and Cheape Bursaries at the University of St Andrews is one of interconnected influential families, immense business wealth, and exploitative imperial labour systems. In 1865,…
John Gray (1724-1811): alumnus, donor and abolitionist? By Sarah Rodriguez
John Gray was unusual for being one of the very few repeat donors to the University, funding a university prize, bursary and Chair between 1794 and his death in 1811. While scholars have taken an interest in Gray for…