John Marshall Lang

John Marshall Lang CVO[1] (1834 – 2 May 1909) was a Church of Scotland minister and author.[2] He served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1893.

Life
The grave of John Marshall Lang, St Machar's Cathedral

He was born in the manse at Glassford into an eminent ecclesiastical family on 14 May 1834. His father was the minister Gavin Lang.[3] His mother was Agnes Roberton Marshall. He was the second of eleven children, including Robert Hamilton Lang.[4]

He studied Sciences at Glasgow University but did not graduate. He then trained as a minister at Divinity Hall In Glasgow, He was ordained by the Church of Scotland at the Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen. In 1858 he moved to the more rural parish of Fyvie. He later served in Anderston in Glasgow and Morningside Church in Edinburgh.

He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1893.[5] His third son Cosmo Gordon Lang was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1928 to 1942; his fifth son Marshall Buchanan Lang was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1935 to 1936;[6] and another son, Norman MacLeod Lang was Bishop suffragan of Leicester (in the Church of England).

In early 1900 he moved to Aberdeen having been elected as Principal of Aberdeen University in March that year.[7] He lived at Chanonry Lodge at 13 Chanonry, midway between King's College, Aberdeen and St Machar's Cathedral.[8] In his role as Principal he was created a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) by King Edward VII during a visit to the university in 1906.

He died on 2 May 1909 and is buried in the eastern enclosure attaching the east end of St Machar's Cathedral.[9]

Publications
  • Heaven and Home (1880)
  • The Last Supper of Our Lord (1881)
  • Ancient Religions of Central America (1882)
  • Life: Is it Worth Living(1883)
  • The Anglican Church (1884)
  • Gideon: A Study Practical and Historical (1890)
  • The Expansion of the Christian Life (1897)

Family

In 1859 he was married to Hannah Agnes Keith (1840-1921), daughter of Hay Keith, a minister, of Hamilton.[10]

They had seven sons and one daughter, his third son Cosmo Gordon Lang later becoming Archbishop of York.

References
  1. The Times, Friday, 9 Nov 1906; pg. 8; Issue 38173; col C Birthday Honours
  2. Amongst others he wrote "Heaven and Home", 1880; "The Last Supper of our Lord", 1881; " Life: is it worth living?", 1883; " Homiletics on St Luke’s Gospel", 1889; "The Expansion of the Christian Life ", 1897; and "The Church and its Social Mission"1902 > British Library website accessed 16:37 GMT 15 March 2011
  3. "TheGlasgowStory: John Marshall Lang". www.theglasgowstory.com.
  4. ODNB: John Marshall Lang
  5. The Times, Saturday, 8 Jun 1935; pg. 11; Issue 47085; col D Scottish Moderator and Church Unity
  6. “Who was Who” 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 9780199540877
  7. "Appointment". The Times (36091). London. 16 March 1900. p. 9.
  8. Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1905
  9. The Times Friday, 7 May 1909; pg. 13; Issue 38953; col A Court Circular
  10. Lang grave, St Machar's Cathedral
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