Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Douglas, George Cunninghame Monteath
DOUGLAS, GEORGE CUNNINGHAME MONTEATH (1826–1904), Hebraist, born on 2 March 1826, in the manse of Kilbarchan, West Renfrewshire, was fourth son in the family of five sons and one daughter of Robert Douglas, minister of the parish, by his wife Janet, daughter of John Monteath, minister of Houston. The fifth son, Carstairs Douglas (1830-1877), became a missionary, and was a Chinese scholar of repute. George was educated at home by his father with such success that he entered the University of Glasgow in 1837 at the early age of eleven, and took a distinguished place in the classes of languages and philosophy. He graduated B.A. in 1843, the year of the disruption. Throwing in his lot with the Free church, he took the prescribed four years' training in theology at the theological college in Edinburgh, which the Free church had erected with Dr. Thomas Chalmers [q. v.] at its head. He was duly 'licensed to preach' by his presbytery, and, after some years spent in 'assistantships,' was ordained in 1852 minister of Bridge-of-Weir in Renfrewshire. In 1856 the Free church erected a third theological college, at Glasgow, and Douglas was appointed tutor of the Hebrew classes. The year after (26 May 1857) he became professor, and held this position until his retirement on 23 May 1892. On the death of Dr. Patrick Fairbairn, Douglas succeeded him as principal (22 May 1875), and held office till 26 May 1902. His whole public life was spent in Glasgow in close connection with its university and with its educational and social activities. He took a keen interest in the establishment of the system of national education, which now exists in Scotland, was chairman of the Free church committee on the matter, and was sent to London in 1869 to watch the progress of the education bill through parliament. He was member of the first two Glasgow school boards, and for several years an active member of Hutcheson's educational trust. He was also chairman of the university council's committee on university reform. He received the degree of D.D. in 1867. Douglas was an early member of the Old Testament company for the revision of the authorised version, and served till the completion of the work in 1884; his accurate acquaintance with the Hebrew text rendered him a valuable coadjutor. He died at Woodcliffe, Bridge-of-Allan, on 24 May 1904, and is buried in the Necropolis, Glasgow. A full-length portrait by G. Sherwood Calvert hangs on the wails of the Free Church College at Glasgow.
As a Hebraist Dr. Douglas belonged to the older school of scholars. He had an exact and minute acquaintance with the Massoretic text of the Old Testament and with extra-canonic Hebrew literature. He read widely and had at his command the results of Hebrew scholarship, German, French, and English. But he had a profound distrust of what he called ' the hasty generalisations 'of the higher criticism, and was always ready to defend his conservative position. His writings fail to do justice to his genuine and extensive scholarship. He published : 'Why I still believe that Moses wrote Deuteronomy' (1878); 'Handbooks on Judges' (1881), and on 'Joshua' (1882); 'A Short Analysis of the Old Testament' (1889); 'The Six Intermediate Minor Prophets' (1889); 'Isaiah one and his Book one' (1895); 'Samuel and his Age' (1901); 'The Old Testament and its Critics' (1902); 'The Story of Job' (1905).
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