John Pye-Smith
Encyclopedia
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, FGS (25 May 1774 - 5 February 1851) was a Congregational
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
theologian and tutor, associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible
History of geology
The history of geology is concerned with the development of the natural science of geology. Geology is the scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of the Earth. Throughout the ages geology provides essential theories and data that shape how society conceptualizes the...
, repealing the Corn Laws
Anti-Corn Law League
The Anti-Corn Law League was in effect the resumption of the Anti-Corn Law Association, which had been created in London in 1836 but did not obtain widespread popularity. The Anti-Corn Law League was founded in Manchester in 1838...
and abolishing slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. He was the author of many learned works.
The son of a Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
bookseller, Pye-Smith was surrounded by books in his youth and, practically self-taught, rose not only to become a Dissenting
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
academic and author, but through his interest in science and geology, was elected to become the first Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
from a Nonconformist background. He was also elected a Fellow of the Geological Society at a time when there was considerable debate about accepting the idea of geological time, and if so to find ways of reconciling this with the teachings of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
.
Throughout his life he worked for the abolition of slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. During the politically turbulent 1790s, Pye-Smith took over the editorship of the Sheffield Iris
Sheffield Iris
The Sheffield Iris was an early weekly newspaper published on Tuesdays in Sheffield, England.The first newspaper to be published in Sheffield to see any degree of success was the Sheffield Weekly Journal in 1754...
, the leading abolitionist newspaper in the North of England, during the imprisonment of its editor, his friend James Montgomery
James Montgomery
James Montgomery was a British editor, hymnwriter and poet. He was particularly associated with humanitarian causes such as the campaigns to abolish slavery and to end the exploitation of child chimney sweeps....
. In 1830 Pye-Smith took the Chair of the Board of Congregational Ministers when it passed an anti-slavery motion to secure support from all Congregational chapels across the country in petitioning parliament: "That we feel it to be a solemn duty to employ our influence with our congregations and the public, to promote petitions to both Houses of Parliament for the abolition of Colonial Slavery, and therefore pledge ourselves, and beg to recommend to our brethren throughout the kingdom to prepare from each congregation such petitions to parliament..." The Congregationalists' 1833 abolition lecture, "The Sinfulness of Colonial Slavery", was delivered at John Pye-Smith's Meeting House in Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
by his former pupil, Robert Halley
Robert Halley
Robert Halley was an English Congregationalist minister and abolitionist. He was noted for his association with the politics of Repeal of the Corn Laws, and became Classical Tutor at Highbury College and Principal of New College, St John's Wood, London.-Early life :Robert Halley was born in...
.
Pye-Smith was theological tutor at the Dissenting academy known as Homerton College near Hackney
Hackney Central
Hackney Central is the central district of the London Borough of Hackney in London, England. It comprises the area roughly surrounding, and extending north from Mare Street. It is situated north east of Charing Cross...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for forty-five years between 1805 and 1850. His pupils included Robert Halley, future Principal of New College, London; Samuel Dyer
Samuel Dyer
Samuel Dyer 台約爾 , was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China in the Congregationalist tradition, who worked among the Chinese in Malaysia. He arrived in Penang in 1827. Dyer, his wife Maria, and their family lived in Malacca and then finally in Singapore...
, the missionary; and William Johnson Fox
William Johnson Fox
William Johnson Fox was an English religious and political orator.-Life:He was born near Southwold, Suffolk. He trained for the Independent ministry, at the dissenting academy known as Homerton College...
of the South Place Chapel, later the South Place Ethical Society
South Place Ethical Society
The South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world, and is the only remaining Ethical society in the United Kingdom...
. Pye-Smith was minister of the Old Gravel Pit Chapel in Chatham Place, Hackney for nearly as long, from 1811–50.
Dr John Pye Smith died in Hackney in 1851 and is buried below a marble chest tomb monument in Dr Watts' Walk, at the Congregationalists' non-denominational garden cemetery
Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
in the grounds of Abney Park
Abney Park
The historic grounds of Abney Park are situated in Stoke Newington, London, England. It is a 13ha park dating from just before 1700, named after Lady Mary Abney and associated with Dr Isaac Watts. In the early 18th century, the park was accessed via the frontages and gardens of two large mansions...
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, north London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
.
He was the grandfather of Philip Henry Pye-Smith
Philip Henry Pye-Smith
Philip Henry Pye-Smith was a physician, medical scientist and educator. His interest was physiology, specialising in skin diseases....
.
Publications
- John Pye Smith, On the relation between the Holy Scriptures and some parts of geological science at Google Books (full download). Published 1840, London: Jackson and Walford.
- John Pye Smith, Four discourses on the sacrifice and priesthood of Jesus Christ, and the Atonement and Redemption thence accruing at Google Books (full download). Published 1842, London: Jackson and Walford.
External links
- National Register of Archives Smith, John Pye (1774-1851) Congregational Minister
- Probate at PCC Will of Reverend John Pye Smith, Doctor of Divinity of Saint John Hackney , Middlesex
- Search result for John Pye Smith - papers in UK archives