William Angus Knight

The Rev Prof William Angus Knight LLD (22 February 1836 – 4 March 1916) was a Scottish Free Church minister and author and Professor of Moral Philosophy at St Andrews University.

For other people named William Knight, see William Knight (disambiguation).

Life

He was born in the manse at Mordington in the Scottish Borders on 22 February 1836, the son of Rev George Fulton Knight.[1][2]

He was educated locally and at the High School in Edinburgh, then studied at the University of Edinburgh for a general degree before training as a Free Church minister at New College, Edinburgh. He was ordained at St Enoch's Free Church in Dundee in 1866. In 1873, in quite a rare move, he and his congregation left the Free Church and joined the Church of Scotland.

In 1876 he was made Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of St. Andrews.[3] In a state of constant change he left the Church of Scotland in 1879 to join the Scottish Episcopal Church. He retired in 1902 and died on 4 March 1916 in Keswick.[1][4]

In the field of philosophy his work, editorial and other, includes his collection of Philosophical Classics for English Readers (15 volumes, 1880–90), some of which he wrote. Although he wrote numerous publications, he is probably best known for his works on Wordsworth. His edition of Wordsworth's Works and Life (1881–89) is contained in 11 volumes. He presented to the trustees of Dove Cottage, Grasmere, the poet's former home, all the editions of Wordsworth's poems which he possessed. He also corresponded with Robert Browning about Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and on his retirement in 1905 he came to Florence's Swiss-owned so-called English Cemetery to plant the red rose at her tomb, which still flourishes, to honour women's learning, though the enamelled plaque celebrating that act has since been stolen.

Artistic recognition

His portrait by Elizabeth Alexander was presented to St Andrews University by the Ladies Literate in Arts whose admission he encouraged.[5]

Works

Family

In 1865 he married Mary Simpson Landale.

His nephew was Rev G. A. Frank Knight.[1]

References
  1. Ewing, William Annals of the Free Church
  2. "Professor W. A. Knight Dies". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. London. 5 March 1916. p. 72. Retrieved 24 January 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Knight, William Angus". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 999.
  4. "King's Collections : Victorian Lives : Knight, William Angus". Kingscollections.org. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. "Professor William Angus Knight (1836–1916), LLD". Art UK. Retrieved 26 February 2020.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. Missing or empty |title= (help)

  • Mitchell, Melissa (ed.) Professor William Knight, 1836-1916. Wordsworthian Discoverer, Enabler, and Publicist. A Centenary Celebration, (Wordsworth Trust, 2016)
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