Simon Somerville Laurie
Simon Somerville Laurie | |
|---|---|
 Simon Sommerville Laurie by George Fiddes Watt | |
| Born | 13 November 1829 |
| Died | 2 March 1909 (aged 79) Edinburgh |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Other names | Tae |
| Occupation | educator |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Ann Hibburd, Lucy Struthers |
Simon Somerville Laurie
Laurie also wrote extensively on philosophy, giving the Gifford Lectures in 1905–6.
Biography
Early life
Laurie was born on 13 November 1829 in
Laurie was educated at
Career
In 1855 he became secretary and visitor of schools for the
In 1856 he became visitor and examiner for the Dick Bequest Trust. The trust distributed money to the best school teachers in northeast Scotland (Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray counties) according to Laurie's published reports.[3]
In 1868, the
In 1872, Laurie was appointed secretary to the royal commission on Scottish endowed schools. His reports for the commission led to the reorganisation of secondary schooling under Lord Moncrieff (1878) and Lord Balfour of Burleigh (1882–1889).[3]
In 1876, Laurie became the first Bell Professor of Education at the University of Edinburgh. In his first year there, he had 12 students; the number rose to 120 by the end of his tenure in 1903. He used the position to improve pedagogy in the whole of Britain, not only in Scotland.[3]
Also in 1876, he became honorary secretary of the Association for Promoting Secondary Education in Scotland, a voluntary campaigning organisation. It was dissolved in 1880 when it achieved its goal with the passing of the Endowed Institutions (Scotland) Act 1878.[3]
In 1891, as president of the Teachers' Guild of Great Britain and Ireland, Laurie gave evidence before a select parliamentary committee, arguing for the registration and organisation of all state school teachers to improve the quality of teaching. At the same time, he was strongly opposed to centralised bureaucratic control by the board of education, favouring freedom for local education authorities.[3]
Writings
He wrote widely on education and on philosophical topics. Josipa Petrunic describes his philosophical writings as "often nebulous and obscure", in contrast to his more practical work on education.[5]
Laurie resigned his chair in 1903, and retired from his work with the Dick Bequest in 1907.[5] In 1905–6, he gave the Gifford Lectures in natural theology, in Edinburgh. He wrote up the lectures in Synthetica (1905–06), which "gave Laurie high rank among speculative writers". The French philosopher Georges Remacle translated and commented on Synthetica.[3]
Awards and honours
On his retirement, Laurie's admirers presented him with the portrait oil painting by George Fiddes Watt (see illustration).[3] The painting is now in the University of Edinburgh Fine Art Collection.[6]
Laurie was given honorary LL.D. degrees by the University of St Andrews in 1887, the University of Edinburgh in 1903, and the University of Aberdeen in 1906.[3] He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[7]
Family
Laurie married Catherine Ann Hibburd (1827–1895) in 1860. They had 4 children together; Katherine "Kitty" Ann Laurie (1863–1928), Margaret "Madge" Jean Somerville Laurie (1870–1955), the chemist Arthur Pillans Laurie (1861–1949), and the zoologist Malcolm Laurie (1866–1932).[8] Arthur and Malcolm were both elected Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[7]
His sister, Mary Struthers Laurie, married Sir David Orme Masson.
Catherine died in 1895. Laurie then married Lucy "Osy" Struthers (1871–1963), the daughter of Sir John Struthers, in 1901.
He died on 2 March 1909 at his house 22
The grave lies in the western extension against the southern wall, close to the south-west corner.Works
- On the Fundamental Doctrine of Latin Syntax (1859)
- On the Philosophy of Ethics: An Analytical Essay. Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh. (1866)
- On Primary Instruction in Relation to Education (1867)
- Notes Expository and Critical on Certain British Theories of Morals (1868)
- Chair of Education, University of Edinburgh: Inaugural Address (1876)
- John Amos Comenius (1881; sixth edition, 1898)
- On the Educational Wants of Scotland (1881)
- Free education, etc., etc.: Chair of Institutes and History of Education: Introductory Lecture (1884)
- Metaphysica nova et vetusta: A Return to Dualism (under the pseudonym "Scotus Novanticus", 1884)
- Ethica, or, The Ethics of Reason (under the pseudonym Scotus Novanticus, 1885)
- The Rise and Early Constitution of Universities, with a Survey of Mediaeval Education (1887)
- Occasional Addresses on Educational Subjects (1888)
- Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the School, Delivered in the University of Cambridge, Easter Term, 1889 (1890)
- Institutes of Education: Compromising an Introduction to Rational Psychology (1892)
- Historical Survey of Pre-Christian Education (1895)
- John Amos Comenius, Bishop of the Moravians: His Life and Educational Works (1899)
- Synthetica: Being Meditations Epistemological and Ontological, Gifford Lectures. 2 Volumes (1. On Knowledge; 2. On God and Man). Longmans, Green and Co. (1905–1906)
References
- ^ Templeton, 2010.
- ^ a b c Knox, 1962.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Watson, DNB supplement, 1912.
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office directory 1829–1830
- ^ a b Petrunic, 2012.
- ^ Watt, George Fiddes. "Simon Somerville Laurie (1829–1909)". Art UK. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002" (PDF). Biographical Index, Part Two. Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ^ "Simon Somerville (Tae) Laurie". Links – Genealogy. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
Bibliography
- Knox, H.M. (May 1962). "Simon Somerville Laurie: 1829–1909". British Journal of Educational Studies. 10 (2): 138–152. JSTOR 3118774.
- Petrunic, Josipa. "Authors: Simon Somerville Laurie". Gifford Lectures, Templeton Press. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- Templeton, Ian Godfrey (24 November 2010). "Simon Somerville Laurie: his educational thought and contribution to Scottish education. 1855 – 1909". Edinburgh Research Archive. )
- Watson, Foster (1912). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
External links
- Art UK: Paintings: Simon Somerville Laurie by George Fiddes Watt, 1904
- National Portrait Gallery: Simon Somerville Laurie by William Brassey Hole, 1884 etching
This article incorporates edited text from the copyright-free 1912 Supplement to the Dictionary of National Biography, as referenced in the article.
