1. Thomas Guthrie FRSE was a Scottish divine and philanthropist, born at Brechin in Angus.
19 Facts About Thomas Guthrie
1. 2.
Thomas Guthrie was born on 12 July 1803 the son of David Guthrie, a banker, and later Provost of Brechin.
3.
Thomas Guthrie studied at Edinburgh University for both surgery and anatomy but then concentrated on Theology.
4.
Thomas Guthrie was licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland from 1825, but having established a reputation as an evangelical he had difficulty securing a parish and instead spent two years studying medicine and science in Paris.
5.
Thomas Guthrie served as Minister of Arbirlot for eight years, and while there where he adopted a dramatic style of preaching suited to his rural congregation.
6.
In 1837 Thomas Guthrie was called to the second charge of Old Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh, alongside first charge minister Rev John Sym.
7.
Thomas Guthrie left the Church of Scotland in the Disruption of 1843 and many of his congregation followed him.
8.
Thomas Guthrie expressed serious concern that the Manse Fund would stretch the generosity of Free Church people to the limit but his fears were unfounded.
9.
Thomas Guthrie was made Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1862.
10.
Thomas Guthrie was succeeded in 1863 by Rev Roderick McLeod.
11.
Dr Thomas Guthrie's most enduring legacy was the Ragged Schools which had a unique curriculum; education, regular meals, clothes, "industrial training" and Christian instruction.
12.
Thomas Guthrie was stunned when this staunch, but uneducated and uncultured, Roman Catholic explained that he was a teetotaller and would not touch a drop of alcohol.
13.
From that day forward Thomas Guthrie resolved to abstain from alcohol and became one of the leaders of the temperance movement.
14.
The determination with which Thomas Guthrie pursued the temperance cause was all the more remarkable when we understand how unusual this position was in the first half of the 19th century.
15.
Thomas Guthrie died at St Leonards-on-Sea in Sussex in 1873 and was buried in The Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh.
16.
Thomas Guthrie's grave is in a commanding position, terminating the main central avenue at its southern end.
17.
Thomas Guthrie's will left his copy of the National Covenant to the Free Church.
18.
Thomas Guthrie was married to Anne Burns, daughter of Rev James Burns, minister of Brechin Cathedral.
19.
Thomas Guthrie was father of Lord Guthrie and great-grandfather of Tyrone Guthrie, a theatre director in Britain, Canada and Ireland and John Guthrie Ward, a diplomat who became British Ambassador to Argentina and Italy.