Henry Dundas was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1788 to 1811. His role in the abolition (and/or the delay of the abolition) of the slave trade has attracted a lot of public attention recently –…
The Maxwell Bursary was created in 1751 by the will of Hugh Maxwell, the minister of Strathmartine (and alumnus of the university). He left 2,700 merks, to be mortified to produce an income for a bursar to attend the…
Hugh Maxwell (c1681-1751) left funds to create the Maxwell Bursary. He was the son of a Dundee merchant, and had been educated at St Andrews, taking an MA in 1702 before becoming a minister. He served in parishes in…
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…
The Thomson Bursary (not to be confused with the Sir William Taylour Thomson bursaries) was established by the will of William Thomson, a former magistrate of Anstruther Wester. He left £700 to fund a bursary that…
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…
By all accounts, George Hill (1750-1819), principal of St Mary’s College in the University of St Andrews, and Church of Scotland minister, was affable, intelligent and eloquent. He is remembered as an influential…
Hugh Cleghorn was Professor of Civil History at the University of St Andrews from 1773 to 1793. His lectures addressed contemporary questions about empire and slavery. He later became colonial secretary at Ceylon (Sri…
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…
If you take the A90 from Perth towards St Andrews, you will pass an imposing ruin perched high on a clifftop, overlooking the sheer drop to the Tay valley and road below. This is the Kinnoull Tower, linked to the…