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…
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,…
What did the students at St Andrews in the nineteenth century think about slavery, colonialism and empire? Unless they wrote or spoke publicly about it, it’s difficult to say… The archives of the University tend to be…
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…
In his 1808 will, John Gray left the University of St Andrews £2,000 overall, £1,500 of which was for the Gray Chair of Chemistry, from the will to invest in land or other stocks. Gray died in 1811, but the…
In his 1808 will, John Gray left £2,000 to the University of St Andrews. Of this, £500 was to establish two bursaries of £10 each for the ‘ordinary Philosophy course’, from the will to invest in land or other stocks.…
The Gray Prize was established by John Gray in 1794, and is still being awarded. It was originally for literary composition on a topic advertised each year. In 1918, it was worth £5. Gray prizes are now awarded by the…
John Gray (1724-1811) was the son of William Gray, a grammar school teacher in Cupar. A student of St Salvator’s College, John Gray received his BA in 1742. After some time as a travelling tutor to several noblemen on…