Fredrick Crombie 1826/27-1889

Frederick CROMBIE 1826/27-1889

Biographical Note

Born in Markinch in Fife, he grew up in Dollar. He was educated at university of St Andrews, between 1842 to 1846, and later studied at the universities of Bonn and Heidelberg, as well as studying theology at the university of Edinburgh. From 1855 he was a lecturer of Classics and Modern History at the training college for the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. In 1859 he was licensed to preach in the Church of Scotland. He was appointed Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at St Mary’s College, university of St Andrews from 1868 to 1889.

Books

Crombie’s library of over 2,000 volumes was donated to the university of St Andrews by his sister in 1890. The majority of his library is theological in nature, with many works pertaining to biblical criticism. The collection also contains classical works, as well as literature such as Goethe’s complete works. Though most of his library contains works printed in the nineteenth century, there are a notable amount of seventeenth-century works, and one incunabula – a work on Arabic grammar (Cro PJ6111.B3).

Sources

• University of St Andrews Special Collections Blog: Echoes from the Vault.
• The Scot's Magazine, 1889, Vol.4 pp.290-294