CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

The Baird Lecture

Open-knowledge reference entry

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 22, 2025
Entity authorityQ7715349
Source-derived summary

The Baird Lecture is a lectureship that was endowed by James Baird to promote the Christian religion.

History and endowment

In 1873 James Baird established The Baird Trust and gave into its care £500,000 to be used for aggressive Christian work. A part of the income of this fund was to provide for a series of lectures in Glasgow and also, if required, at one other of the Scottish university towns. Each course was to be delivered by a minister of the Church of Scotland, who could be reappointed, and was to consist of at least six lectures.

Catalogue of titles

1873: The Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by Robert Jamieson

1874: The Mysteries of Christianity, by Thomas Jackson Crawford

1875: Endowed Territorial Work, by William Smith

1876: Theism, by Robert Flint

1877: Anti-Theistic Theories, by Robert Flint

1879: Messianic Prophecy, by Paton James Gloag

1880: Historical Development of Supernatural Religion, by John Christie

1881: Natural Elements of Revealed Theology, by George Matheson

1882: The Westminster Assembly, by Alexander Ferrier Mitchell

1883: St Paul’s Use of the Terms Flesh and Spirit, by Prof Wm Dickson

1885: The Revelation of St John, by Prof William Milligan

1887: The Church of Christ, by Prof Archibald Hamilton Charteris

1889: Early Religion of Israel, by Prof J Robertson

1891: The Ascension and Heavenly Priesthood of our Lord, by Prof Wm Milligan

1892: Sacrifice: Its Prophecy and Fulfilment, by Archibald Scott

1895: The Scottish Church in Christendom, by Prof H Cowan

1897: Apostolic ministry in the Scottish Church, by Prof Robert Herbert Story

1899: The Scottish Reformation, by Alexander Ferrier Mitchell

1901: The Church and its Social Mission, by Very Rev J Marshall Lang

1903: The Ministry and Sacraments of the Church of Scotland, by Very Revd Donald Macleod

1905: The Rule of Faith, by Prof W P Paterson

1907: The Four Gospels in the Earliest Church History, by Prof Thomas Nicol

1909: Modern Substitutes for Christianity, by Very Rev Pearson McAdam Muir

1911: New Testament Criticism: Its History and Results, by Revd J A McClymont

1913: Christian Freedom, by Prof W M McGregor

1915: The Apostles of India, by Revd James Nicoll Ogilvie

1917: The Idea of Immortality, by Prof G Galloway

1920: The Christian Vindication of Patriotism, by Robert Stevenson

1922: Jeremiah, by Prof George Adam Smith

1924: Religious Experience, by R H Fisher

1926: Music in Church Worship, by G W Stewart

1928: The Idealism of Christian Ethics, by G Walker

1929: The New Testament and its Transmission, by Prof George Milligan

1932: The Riddle of the World, by Prof David S Cairns

1934: Post Exilic Judaism, by Prof Adam Welch

1935: Parish and Parish Church, by Revd P D Thomson

1942: Youth in the new Order, by W M Wightman

1946: New Forms of the Old Faith, by Revd James Black

1947: The Chaplains in the Church of Scotland, by Revd T B Stewart Thomson

1949: The Epistle to the Hebrews, by Prof Wm Manson

1950: Church and Ministry, by Prof G. D. Henderson

1955: A History of Worship in the Church of Scotland, by Revd W D Maxwell

1960: Christian Faith and the Providential Order, by Rev Archibald Campbell Craig

1965: History and Duties of the Office of Elder, by Rev G M Dryburgh

1971: Ethics in a Permissive Society, by Prof Wm Barclay

1975: Message, Media, Mission, by Revd R F Falconer

1978: Saltire and Thistle, by Revd J.BP Bulloch

1985: Kirk by Divine Right, by Very Rev Andrew Herron

1990: Music’s Magic Lost: Can it be regained?, by Revd Ian Mackenzie

2004: Netting Citizens, by Rev. Johnston McKay

2007: Celebrating 150 years of Scottish Scholarship

2009: What should they know of preaching who only preaching know? by Very Revd Dr Andrew McLellan

External links

The Baird Trust website with text of all the lectures as searchable .pdf files.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Baird Lecture” as open-knowledge reference entry. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1873, 1874, 1875, 1876—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Baird, Lecture and Open-knowledge can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as open-knowledge reference entry. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 22, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7715349. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1873, 1874, 1875 and 1876.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Baird Lecture”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Baird Lecture primary sources, The Baird Lecture archive and Baird research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Baird Lecture”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Baird Lecture” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.