Thomas Burns (minister, born 1853)

Reverend Thomas Burns CBE TD FRSE FSA (1853–1938) was a Scottish minister and strong campaigner for the blind. As Chair of the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh he was the creator of the Thomas Burns Home which was named after him. He was also an author on several historical subjects.

Not to be confused with Thomas Burns (minister, born 1796).

Life
3 Chalmers Crescent, Edinburgh
The grave of Rev Dr Thomas Burns, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born in Lesmahagow on 3 March 1853 the son of Rev Thomas Burns and Agnes MacLeod McNaughton.

He was educated at Glasgow High School. He was licensed to minister 1876 and ordained into Melville parish, near Montrose, Aberdeenshire in 1877. From there he moved to the Lady Glenorchy Church in Edinburgh's Southside, where he served for most of his life.[1]

In Edinburgh he also took on many additional duties, joining the Edinburgh School Board in 1888, and in 1894 taking on his most famous role, as Chairman of the Royal Blind School.[2] In 1888 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

In the First World War he saw active service as an Army Chaplain, rising to the rank of Major. He was Mentioned in Dispatches.

In 1927 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

In 1929, under his chairmanship of the Royal Blind School, he created a new residential element, the Thomas Burns Home, on Alfred Place.

In 1931 he retired from his ministry at Lady Glenorchy's Church but continued in many other roles.

After a week's illness he died at home, 3a Chalmers Crescent in Edinburgh on 15 January 1938.[3] He is buried in the south-west section of Grange Cemetery on one of the main east-west avenues.

Family

In 1890 he married Sarah Frances Townsend Murray (1846-1926) daughter of Charles Wilson Murray. She is buried with him but also memorialised on her mother's grave in Dean Cemetery.

Publications
  • Old Communion Customs (1892)
  • Old Scottish Communion Plate, including Hallmarks and Tokens (1896)
  • Life of Lady Glenorchy (1902)

References
  1. "Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh - 1783 – 2002" (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  2. "Care for Older People (1825-2014) - History of Royal Blind". Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  3. Obituary:Glasgow Herald 17 January 1938
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