Life
He was born at Torwoodlee-Mains, in the parish of Stow, Midlothian, 22 November 1779. He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1794, where he supported himself by teaching. He graduated M.D. in 1801. After serving for a short time in the army hospital service he started studying law. But in 1804 he became amanuensis, at Inveresk, to the Rev. Alexander Carlyle, who gave him the manuscript of his autobiography on his death in 1805.
Lee was licensed as a preacher in 1807, and after acting for a few months as pastor of a Presbyterian chapel in London was ordained minister of Peebles. In 1812 he became professor of church history at St Mary's College, St Andrews, and was there chosen rector of the college. In 1820 he became professor of moral philosophy in King's College, Aberdeen, but his lectures there were mostly delivered by a deputy.
In 1821 Lee resigned both professorships and accepted a call to the Canongate Church, Edinburgh, when the degree of D.D. was given him by St. Andrews University. In 1825 he was translated from the Canongate to Lady Yester's Church, and was appointed a chaplain in ordinary to the king in 1830. He was made principal clerk of the General Assembly in 1827, and unsuccessfully contested the moderatorship with Thomas Chalmers in 1832. In 1834 he became minister of the old church of St. Giles's, Edinburgh, principal of the United College, St Andrews in 1837, and dean of the Chapel Royal, Stirling, in 1840. In 1840, also, he was elected Principal of the University of Edinburgh.
When the Disruption of 1843 took place, Lee remained faithful to the established Church of Scotland. Heundertook to conduct the divinity class, and was shortly afterwards made professor of divinity in succession to Chalmers; he held the office with the principalship. The General Assembly elected him moderator in 1844.
Lee died at the University of Edinburgh on 2 May 1859.
Lee was accomplished in almost every branch of knowledge, and in Scottish literary and ecclesiastical history had very detailed information. He collected a library of twenty thousand volumes. He was caricatured by John Hill Burton in the Book Hunter as Archdeacon Meadows the bibliomaniac, who would buy a book of which he had several copies already, and then, not being able to find any of his copies, would have to borrow the same book from a friend for reference.
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