Introduction

Biography

William was the son of Will­iam Al­ex­an­der, a mer­chant of Leith, and Eli­za­beth Lind­say.

He stu­died at the Uni­ver­si­ties of Ed­in­burgh and St. An­drews, then be­came, in 1828, Class­ic­al Tu­tor in what lat­er be­came The Lan­ca­shire Col­lege.

After stu­dy­ing in Hal­le, Ger­ma­ny, in 1835 he be­came min­is­ter of the North Col­lege Street Church in Ed­in­burgh. In 1861, he moved with his con­gre­ga­tion to a new church in George IV Bridge, called the Au­gus­tine Church. He re­tired from that pas­tor­al charge in 1877.

In 1846, Al­ex­an­der re­ceived a DD de­gree from the Uni­ver­si­ty of St. An­drews, and in 1884 an LLD from Ed­in­burgh. From 1854–81, he was a pro­fes­sor at the Scot­tish Con­gre­ga­tion­al Hall. In 1870, he be­came a mem­ber of the Old Tes­ta­ment Re­vi­sion Com­pa­ny.

Works

Alexander wrote and ed­it­ed a num­ber of theo­lo­gi­cal works, and:

• Selection of Hymns, 1849 (al­so known as the Au­gus­tine Hymn Book)