Editing William Robertson Smith (section)

{{short description|British orientalist and minister of the Free Church of Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| name          = William Robertson Smith
| image         = WilliamRobertsonSmith.jpg
| image_size    =
| alt           =
| caption       =
| birth_name    =
| birth_date    = 8 November 1846
| birth_place   = [[Keig]], [[Aberdeenshire]], Scotland
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1894|3|31|1846|11|8|df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[Cambridge]], England
| occupation    = Minister of religion, theologian, [[Semitic scholar]]
| alma_mater    = [[New College, Edinburgh]]
| notableworks  = ''Religion of the Semites''
}}
'''William Robertson Smith''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSE}} (8 November 1846{{snd}}31 March 1894) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[List of Islamic studies scholars|orientalist]], [[Old Testament]] scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)|Free Church of Scotland]]. He was an editor of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' and contributor to the ''[[Encyclopaedia Biblica]]''. He is also known for his book ''Religion of the Semites'', which is considered a foundational text in the comparative study of religion.