John Caird

1820-1898. Scottish theologian and philosopher, older brother of Edward.* Born in Greenock and educated at Glasgow University, he was ordained and became minister successively at Newton-on-Ayr (1845), Lady Yester's, Edinburgh (1847), Errol (1849), and Park Church, Glasgow (1857). He was appointed to the chair of theology at Glasgow in 1862 and became principal of the university in 1873. Earlier he had preached before Queen Victoria from Romans 12:11 what Dean Stanley called “the greatest single sermon of the century,” which was published and translated into several languages. His writings include Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (1880), which contained, it was said, the essence of Hegelianism (see Hegel) as applicable to the Christian religion, and The Fundamental Ideas of Christianity (2 vols., 1899).