He was a good fighting leader, acute and tenacious in debate. He was married three times and left issue.
[Tasmanian Mercury and Examiner, 11 April 1906; John's Notable Australians; information checked by the agent-general for Tasmania.]
DOUGLAS, GEORGE (1869–1902), novelist. [See Brown, George Douglas.]
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).
[Private information.]
DOUGLAS-PENNANT, GEORGE SHOLTO GORDON, second Baron Penrhyn (1836–1907), born at Linton Springs, Yorkshire, on 30 Sept. 1836, was elder son of Edward Gordon Douglas (1800-1886), third son of John Douglas, second son of James Douglas, sixteenth earl of Morton. His mother, his father's first wife, was Juliana Isabella Mary (d. 1842), eldest daughter and co -heiress of George Hay Dawkins-Pennant of Penrhyn Castle. In 1841 the father, whose wife inherited vast property in North Wales, assumed the additional surname of Pennant by royal licence, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Penrhyn on 3 Aug. 1866. George was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. A project of entering the army was abandoned in deference to his father's wishes, but he always interested himself in military affairs. He was major of the Carnarvonshire rifles and honorary colonel of the 4th battalion of royal Welsh fusiliers. In 1866 he was elected conservative M.P. for Carnarvonshire, and held the seat until 1868. He was again elected in 1874, but was defeated in 1880 by Watkin Williams, Q.C. He succeeded to the peerage
