Henry Calderwood was born in Peebles on 10 May 1830. He was educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh and then studied at Edinburgh University with the intention of going into the Church. He entered the theological hall of the United Presbyterian Church in 1851 and was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Edinburgh in 1856. In September 1856, Calderwood was ordained as Minister of Greyfriars Church, Glasgow. While in Glasgow, he gave a great deal of his time to political and religious movements directed towards improving the lot of the city's poor. In 1861, he was elected examiner in philosophy to Glasgow University, and in 1866 he conducted the moral philosophy classes at the University. In 1868, Calderwood was appointed to the Chair of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University. Just as he had done so in Glasgow, he took an active interest in political, philanthropic, educational and religious matters in the city, and as a Liberal Unionist he was repeatedly asked to stand for parliament to represent one of the Edinburgh constituencies. In 1880, he was elected moderator of the United Presbyterian Church synod. Calderwood's publications include Handbook of moral philosophy (1872), Teaching, its end and means (1874), The relations of mind and brain (1879), and Evolution and man's place in nature (1893). Professor Henry Calderwood died on 19 November 1897.
From the guide to the Papers of Professor Henry Calderwood (1830-1897), 1880-1891, (Edinburgh University Library)
