William Thomas WHITLEY

WHITLEY, WILLIAM THOMAS (b. London, England, 16 May 1861; d. England, 18 Dec 1947). Baptist theological educator.

Whitley was educated at Cambridge (MA 1883, LLM 1889), and at Rawdon Baptist College. He moved from Bridlington (Yorks) to become the first principal of the Baptist College of Victoria in 1891. He established high educational standards for the College and received LLD (1897) from the University of Melbourne for a timely thesis on the history and theory of federation. Whitley was also an ardent missionary enthusiast, visiting India in 1895. After eleven years of service as principal declining numbers led to Whitley's resignation and his return to England in 1902. He became the leading Baptist historian in Britain publishing many standard works. The Baptist College of Victoria was renamed Whitley College in 1965.

R Otzen, Whitley. The Baptist College of Victoria 1891-1991 (Melbourne, 1991)

K R MANLEY