William Robertson (Irish priest)
William Robertson (1705–1783) was an Irish clergyman, known as a theological writer and schoolmaster. Theophilus Lindsey wrote of Robertson as "the father of unitarian nonconformity".
Early life
He was born in Dublin on 16 October 1705. His father was a linen manufacturer, of Scottish birth, who had married in England Diana Allen. In 1717 he went to school at Dublin under Francis Hutcheson. On 4 March 1723 he matriculated at Glasgow University, graduated M.A. on 29 April 1724, and studied divinity under John Simson.
Expulsion from university
In 1725 came a crisis in a long-standing dispute between the Glasgow students and John Stirling, the principal. Stirling had appointed Hugh Montgomery of Hartfield as rector, ignoring the students' right to elect. Robertson and William Campbell of Mamore (younger brother of John Campbell) presented to Stirling a petition signed by some sixty students, demanding a university meeting for 1 March to elect a rector according to the statute. On its rejection, the petitioners went in a body on 1 March to Montgomery's house, when Robertson read a protest against his authority.