Stephen Reay

{{Short description|19th-century Scottish academic and clergyman}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Use British English|date=May 2017}} '''Stephen Reay''' (29 March 1782 – 20 January 1861) was a Scottish academic and clergyman, who was [[Laudian Professor of Arabic]] from 1840 until his death.<ref>"A Field Guide to the English Clergy' Butler-Gallie, F p52: London, Oneworld Publications, 2018 {{ISBN|9781786074416}} </ref>

==Life== Reay was the only child of a Scottish clergyman, John Reay, and was born in [[Montrose, Angus]], on 29 March 1782, which was [[Good Friday]]. He studied at the [[University of Edinburgh]] with the philosopher [[Dugald Stewart]], graduating in 1802.<ref name=GM/><ref name=Oxford/> He was ordained at [[Chester Cathedral]] in 1806 before serving as a [[curate]] in [[Shotwick]], [[Cheshire]], and then in [[Haslingden]], [[Lancashire]], where he met Eleonara Hargreave, who he later married.<ref name=GM/> He studied at the [[University of Oxford]], [[matriculation|matriculating]] at [[St Alban Hall, Oxford]] in 1814, obtaining a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1817, his [[MA Oxon|Master of Arts]] degree in 1823 and his [[Bachelor of Divinity]] degree in 1841.<ref name=Oxford/> He acted as Vice-Principal of St Alban Hall for some years, and was appointed [[Laudian Professor of Arabic]] in 1840.<ref name=GM/> He published little, although contemporaries praised his scholarship. He wrote a pamphlet, "Observations on the defence of the Church Missionary Society against the objections of the Archdeacon of Bath" (1818) under the pseudonym "Pileus Quadratus", and edited two texts, ''Narratio de Josepho e sacro codice'' (1822) and ''Textus Hebraicus'' (1840).<ref name=Oxford>{{cite web|first=D. S. |last=Margoliouth|authorlink=D. S. Margoliouth|title=Reay, Stephen (1782–1861)|author2=Baigent, Elizabeth |work=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23239|accessdate=6 January 2010}}</ref>

Reay was appointed Under-Librarian at the [[Bodleian Library]] in 1828 by [[Bulkeley Bandinel]], the [[Bodley's Librarian|university librarian]].<ref name=GM/> He was in charge of oriental books. Reay held the professorship until his death, and remained at the Bodleian until retiring with a pension in 1860.<ref name=GM/><ref name=Oxford/> Colleagues at the library fondly remembered "his habits of pottering around the library in search of his spectacles and hovering over hot-air gratings in search of warmth".<ref name=Oxford/> He was also [[curate]] for a time of the church of St Peter-le-Bailey, Oxford.<ref name=GM/>

He was remembered for his "kindness of heart and courtesy of manner", and was described in an obituary as "a most genuine Christian character" and one who was "never heard to utter an unkind word of anybody".<ref name=GM/> His health declined in his later years and he died on 20 February 1861, 19 days after his wife. He was buried in [[St Sepulchre's Cemetery]], Oxford, alongside his wife.<ref name=GM>{{cite news|work=[[The Gentleman's Magazine]], volume 210|title=Professor Stephen Reay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9whAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA463 |date=April 1861|pages=463–465|accessdate=6 January 2010}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, Stephen}} [[Category:1782 births]] [[Category:1861 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]] [[Category:Alumni of St Alban Hall, Oxford]] [[Category:19th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests]] [[Category:Laudian Professors of Arabic]] [[Category:Burials at St Sepulchre's Cemetery]]