1 Rev. Robert Burns

Born in Scotland, Robert Burns (1789-1869) was a Presbyterian minister and educator in Canada West (Ontario). In 1805, he began theological training at the University of Edinburgh, and was ordained in 1811. Burns was active in several colonial evangelical societies, including the French Canadian Missionary Society and Glasgow Colonial Society. He supported the radical wing of the Presbyterian Church and led his congregation to break from the Kirk during the Disruption of 1843 and form Free St. George’s Church of Paisley. Burns visited Canada in 1843 in order to garner support for Free Church missions in North America. He was appointed professor of divinity at Knox College in Toronto in 1845, and as minister at Knox Presbyterian Church. Burns continued his missionary tours of Canada, raising funds for churches, rural parishes and educational initiatives. He was active in community affairs, advocating for the secularization of the Clergy Reserves, for the abolition movement and for public education. Burns resigned as minister of Knox Church in 1856 and became professor of church history at Knox College, until his retirement in 1864.

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