William Robertson Smith

Scottish orientalist and minister of the Free Church of Scotland (1846–1894)
Person human Q461733
William Robertson Smith
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William Robertson Smith

Summary

William Robertson Smith is a human[1]. Born in Aberdeenshire[2], he… he was born on November 8, 1846[3]. He passed away in Cambridge[4]. He died on March 31, 1894[5]. He worked as an anthropologist[6], linguist[7], librarian[8], historian of religion[9], and archaeologist[10]. He ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (16 views/month, #7,285 of 1,000,298).[11]

Key Facts

  • William Robertson Smith was born in Aberdeenshire[2].
  • William Robertson Smith passed away in Cambridge[4].
  • William Robertson Smith was born on November 8, 1846[3].
  • William Robertson Smith died on March 31, 1894[5].
  • William Robertson Smith held citizenship in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland[12].
  • William Robertson Smith worked as an anthropologist[6].
  • William Robertson Smith's professions included linguist[7].
  • William Robertson Smith's professions included librarian[8].
  • William Robertson Smith's professions included historian of religion[9].
  • William Robertson Smith worked as an archaeologist[10].
  • William Robertson Smith worked as a theologian[13].
  • William Robertson Smith was employed by University of Cambridge[14].
  • William Robertson Smith was educated at University of Edinburgh[15].
  • William Robertson Smith was educated at University of Aberdeen[16].
  • William Robertson Smith received the Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[17].
  • William Robertson Smith was a member of Royal Society of Edinburgh[18].
  • William Robertson Smith's religion is recorded as Protestantism[19].
  • William Robertson Smith is recorded as male[20].
  • William Robertson Smith's instance of is recorded as human[21].
  • William Robertson Smith supervised James George Frazer as a doctoral student[22].
  • William Robertson Smith's Commons category is recorded as William Robertson Smith[23].
  • The cause of death was tuberculosis[24].
  • William Robertson Smith's family name is recorded as Smith[25].
  • William Robertson Smith's given name is recorded as William[26].
  • William Robertson Smith's given name is recorded as Robertson[27].

Body

Origins and Family

William Robertson Smith's place of birth was Aberdeenshire[2]. He was born on November 8, 1846[3].

Education

Educated at University of Edinburgh[15], a public university[28], in United Kingdom[29], founded in 1583[30], headquartered in Edinburgh[31] and University of Aberdeen[16], a public research university[32], in United Kingdom[33], founded in 1495[34], headquartered in Aberdeen[35]. William Robertson Smith studied under Paul de Lagarde[36].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include anthropologist[6], linguist[7], librarian[8], historian of religion[9], archaeologist[10], and theologian[13]. William Robertson Smith was employed by University of Cambridge[14]. He supervised James George Frazer as a doctoral student[22].

Recognition

William Robertson Smith received the Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[17].

Personal Life

William Robertson Smith's religion is recorded as Protestantism[19].

Death and Burial

William Robertson Smith died on March 31, 1894[5]. He passed away in Cambridge[4]. The cause of death was tuberculosis[24].

Why It Matters

William Robertson Smith ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (16 views/month, #7,285 of 1,000,298).[11] He has Wikipedia articles in 16 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[37] He is known by 9 alternative names across languages and contexts.[38]

His notable doctoral advisees include James George Frazer[39], an anthropologist[40], 1854–1941[41], of United Kingdom[42], awarded the Order of Merit[43], specialised in anthropology[44].

FAQs

Where was William Robertson Smith born?

Born in Aberdeenshire[2], William Robertson Smith…

Where did William Robertson Smith die?

William Robertson Smith passed away in Cambridge[4].

What did William Robertson Smith do for work?

William Robertson Smith worked as anthropologist[6], linguist[7], librarian[8], historian of religion[9], and archaeologist[10].

Where did William Robertson Smith go to school?

William Robertson Smith was educated at University of Edinburgh[15] and University of Aberdeen[16].

What awards did William Robertson Smith receive?

Honors received include Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[17].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [20] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] . wikidata.org.
  5. [21] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  6. [15] . wikidata.org.
  7. [16] . wikidata.org.
  8. [6] . wikidata.org.
  9. [7] . wikidata.org.
  10. [8] . wikidata.org.
  11. [9] . wikidata.org.
  12. [10] . wikidata.org.
  13. [13] . wikidata.org.
  14. [14] . wikidata.org.
  15. [19] . wikidata.org.
  16. [17] . wikidata.org.
  17. [22] . wikidata.org.
  18. [23] . wikidata.org.
  19. [18] . wikidata.org.
  20. [24] . wikidata.org.
  21. [3] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  22. [5] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . wikidata.org.
  26. [36] . Dictionary of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation (2007 ed.). wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [39] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [11] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [37] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [38] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). William Robertson Smith. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-robertson-smith
MLA “William Robertson Smith.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-robertson-smith.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_william-robertson-smith_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William Robertson Smith}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-robertson-smith}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William Robertson Smith — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-robertson-smith (retrieved 2026-04-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 12d ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation anthropologist, linguist, librarian +7
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32086|batch #32086]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (28)"
  2. 12d ago · Quesotiotyo · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14397 4433
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ [[Property:P14397]]: 4433, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/258229|batch #258229]]"
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