William Stewart Ross

{{Short description|Scottish secularist writer and publisher (1844–1906)}} '''William Stewart Ross''' (20 March 1844 – 30 November 1906) was a Scottish writer and publisher. He was a noted [[secularist]] thinker and used the [[pseudonym]] '''"Saladin"'''. Between 1888 and 1906 he was the editor of the ''Agnostic Journal'', successor to the ''[[Secular Review]]''.<ref>Alastair Bonnett 'The Agnostic Saladin' ''History Today'', 2013, 63,2, pp. 47–51</ref>

[[File:William Stewart Ross ( nom de plume as SALADIN ).jpg|right|thumb|250px|William Stewart Ross – "SALADIN"]]

==Life and career== [[File:William Stewart Ross Grave.jpg|thumb|right|The grave of William Stewart Ross in [[Brookwood Cemetery]]]] He was born in [[Kirkbean]], [[Kirkcudbrightshire]], into a [[Presbyterian]] family. At the age of 20, he began studying at [[Glasgow University]], with the intention of entering the Church. However, he became more interested in literature, particularly the works of [[Robert Burns]] and [[Thomas Carlyle]], and moved to London where he managed the Thomas Laurie bookshop.<ref name=ffrf/>

In London in 1872, Ross established his own publishing company, W. Stewart & Co., and for some years primarily issued educational works and magazines.<ref name="McCabe1920">{{cite book |editor-link=Joseph McCabe |editor-last=McCabe |editor-first=Joseph |publication-date=1920 |entry-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Biographical_Dictionary_of_Modern_Rationalists/Ross,_William_Stewart |entry=Ross, William Stewart |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Biographical_Dictionary_of_Modern_Rationalists |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Rationalists |publication-place=London |publisher=Watts & Co. |pages=683–684}}</ref> But Ross also became a leading advocate of [[freethought]], [[agnosticism]], [[rationalism]] and [[secularism]], and served as president of the Lambeth Radical Association. In 1880 he chaired a lecture by [[Charles Bradlaugh]], with whom he disagreed over the issue of [[birth control]], and soon became associated with the branch of secular thought led by [[Charles Watts (secularist)|Charles Watts]] and his son [[C. A. Watts]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=William Stewart Ross|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4656666.William_Stewart_Ross|access-date=2021-02-18|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref>

In 1882 he served as co-editor with the elder Watts on the ''[[Secular Review]]'', and two years later Ross became its sole editor and proprietor, penning many essays on secularism using the pseudonym "Saladin". In December 1888, Ross changed the name of ''Secular Review'' to the ''Agnostic Journal and Secular Review'', and shortly thereafter changed the name one final time to the ''Agnostic Journal and Eclectic Review''. The last issue was published in June 1907, a few months after Ross's death.<ref>Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, eds., ''Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland'' (Academia Press, 2009), p. 566.</ref>

Ross wrote a number of books, including ''The Flagellants'' (1884), ''God and his Book'' (1887), ''Roses and Rue'' (1891), and ''Woman: Her Glory and Her Shame'' (in two volumes, 1894).<ref name=ffrf/><ref name=androom/> He also penned several volumes of poetry, winning a gold medal for the best poem memorializing Robert Burns at the unveiling of a statue in 1879, and another for a poem describing a visit to the graveside of the revered Scottish poet.<ref name=ffrf>[http://ffrf.org/news/day/dayitems/item/14275-william-stewart-ross Freedom From Religion Foundation: William Stewart Ross]. Accessed 31 October 2012</ref><ref name="McCabe1920"/><ref name=androom>[http://androom.home.xs4all.nl/biography/p019525.htm The Androom Archives: Biography]. Accessed 31 October 2012</ref> One of his poems, ''Caractacus the Briton'', published in 1881, is noted for its refrain, "[[Caratacus|Caractacus]] the Briton, the bravest of the brave!".

In later years he was confined to bed with [[Sclerosis (medicine)|sclerosis]], but continued to write and edit. He died in London at the age of 62 and was buried in [[Brookwood Cemetery]], [[Surrey]], [[England]].<ref name=ffrf/><ref name=androom/> He was survived by his wife Elizabeth (née Sherar) and four children.<ref>{{cite ODNB |title=Ross, William Stewart [pseud. Saladin] |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/35840 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/35840 |date=23 September 2004}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

==References== {{wikisource|works=or}} {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Ross%2C+William+Stewart%2C+1844-1906%22 Works by William Stewart Ross] at the Internet Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, William Stewart}} [[Category:1844 births]] [[Category:1906 deaths]] [[Category:Scottish humanists]] [[Category:Freethought writers]] [[Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery]]