William Hamilton Drummond | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 1778 Larne, Ireland |
| Died | 16 October 1865(1865-10-16) (aged 87) Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, writer |
William Hamilton Drummond, D.D. (August 1778 – 16 October 1865) was an Irishpoet,animal rights writer andcontroversialist.
Drummond, eldest son of William Drummond, surgeon, R.N., by his wife Rose Hare, was born atLarne,County Antrim, in August 1778. His father, paid off in 1783, died of fever soon after entering on a practice atBallyclare, County Antrim. His mother, left without resources, removed toBelfast with her three children, and went into business. Drummond, after receiving an education at theBelfast Academy, underJames Crombie, D.D., andWilliam Bruce, was placed in a manufacturing house inEngland. Harsh usage turned his thoughts from the prospects of commercial life, and at the age of sixteen he enteredGlasgow College (November 1794) to study for the ministry.
Straitened means interrupted Drummond's course, and left him without a degree, but he acquired considerable classical culture, and as a very young student began to publish poetry, in which the influence of the revolutionary ideas of the period culminating in 1798 is apparent. Leaving Glasgow in 1798 he became tutor in a family atRavensdale,County Louth, pursuing his studies under the direction of theArmagh presbytery, with which he connected himself on the ground of its exacting a high standard of proficiency from candidates for the ministry. In 1799, returning to Belfast, he was transferred to thePresbytery of Antrim, and licensed on 9 April 1800. He at once received calls from First Holywood and Second Belfast, and accepting the latter was ordained on 26 August 1800, the presiding minister being William Bryson [q. v.] He became popular, especially as a preacher of charity sermons, and dealt little in topics of controversy. On his marriage he opened a boarding-school at Mount Collyer, and lectured on natural philosophy, having among his pupilsThomas Romney Robinson, the astronomer. He was one of the first members of theBelfast Literary Society (founded 23 Oct. 1801), and contributed to its transactions several of his poems. Bishop Percy of Dromore sought his acquaintance, and obtained for him the degree of D.D. fromMarischal College,Aberdeen (29 January 1810). In 1815 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the chair of logic and belles-lettres in theBelfast Academical Institution, and on 15 October that year he was called to Strand Street,Dublin, as colleague toJames Armstrong, D.D. Installed on 25 December, he entered on the chief charge of his long life. He was soon elected a member of theRoyal Irish Academy, contributed frequently to its Transactions, held for many years the office of its librarian, and took a scholarly interest inCeltic literature. His poetical pieces, versified from ancient Irish sources, are graceful paraphrases rather than close translations. Most of his writings show traces of very wide reading. His house was crammed with the heterogeneous results of an insatiable habit of book-collecting.
Some years after his settlement in Dublin Drummond came out as apolemic, exhibiting in this capacity a degree of sharpness and vivacity which seemed a rather remarkable outcome of his gentle and genial temperament. In two instances (in 1827 and 1828) he took advantage of discussions between disputants of the Roman Catholic and established churches as occasions for bringing forward arguments forunitarian views; and in the controversies thus provoked he was always ready with a reply. His essay onThe Doctrine of the Trinity is the best specimen of his polemics. HisLife of Servetus is a continuous onslaught onCalvinism.
In old age Drummond suffered from attacks ofapoplexy, under which his powers of recollection were gradually extinguished. He died at Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin, on 16 October 1865 and was buried atHarold's Cross cemetery, near Dublin, on 20 October.
Drummond has been described as a "staunch advocate of animal rights".[1] He authoredAn Essay on the Rights of Animals, which won an essay competition.[2] This work was later published asThe Rights of Animals: And Man's Obligation to Treat Them With Humanity, in 1838.[2] It was written at the behest of theSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In 2005,Edwin Mellen Press republished the book with editorial notes fromRod Preece and Chien-Hui Li.[3]
The following is a list of Drummond's poems:
Among his controversial works were:
His works onanimal rights:
His biographical publications were:
With papers in theTransactions of the Royal Irish Academy, Drummond wrote a prize essayThe Poems of Ossian, Dublin, 1830, defendingJames Macpherson's authorship. Posthumous wasSermons, 1867, with memoir and two portraits.
Drummond married, first, Barbara, daughter of David Tomb of Belfast, and had several children, of whom William Bruce Drummond and two daughters survived him; and secondly, Catherine (d. 22 April 1879), daughter of Robert Blackley of Dublin, by whom he left children Robert Blackley Drummond, minister of St. Mark's, Edinburgh; James Drummond, LL.D., principal ofManchester New College, London, and a daughter; another daughter by the second marriage died before him.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "Drummond, William Hamilton".Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
| Presbyterian Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister ofStrand Street Presbyterian Church, Dublin - church moved toSt Stephen's Green in 1863 – 1815–1865 With:James Armstrong,1815-1839 George Allman Armstrong,1841-1865 | Succeeded by George Allman Armstrong |
