1876-82 for liberty of biblical criticism, he by his moral weight was recognised as the real author of the victory which, at the cost of his own chair, Smith won for Scotland. Davidson supplied influence and guidance at a time when opinions which had come to be regarded by many as axiomatic were being rudely disturbed. He was equally alive to the historical and the religious importance of the Old Testament; and he was the first leader of thought in this country who taught successfully the reality of both. Apart from numerous articles in theological periodicals and in Hastings' 'Dictionary of the Bible,' Davidson's chief publications were:
- A grammatical and exegetical 'Commentary on Job,' 1862, unhappily never completed.
- 'An Introductory Hebrew Grammar,' 1874; 9th edit. 1888, very largely used as a class-book (now in its 18th edit.).
- 'A Hebrew Syntax,' 1894, intended for more advanced students, and remarkably thorough and complete.
- Commentaries on the 'Epistle to the Hebrews,' 1882.
- 'Job,' 1884;
- 'Ezekiel,' 1892;
- 'Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,' 1896: the last three in the 'Cambridge Bible.'
There were published posthumously 'Biblical and Literary Essays' (1902); two volumes of sermons, 'The Called of God' (1902) and 'Waiting upon God' (1904); and two volumes based upon his lectures, 'Old Testament Prophecy' (1903) and 'The Theology of the Old Testament' (1904). There is a portrait by Sir George Reid in the New College, Edinburgh.
[British Weekly, 30 Jan. 1902; Expositor, Jan. 1888, p. 29 ff. (with portrait); Expos. Times, July 1897, p. 441 ff. (with portrait the best); Biblical World (Chicago), Sept. 1902, pp. 167 seq., and Oct. 1902, pp. 288 seq. (by G. A. Smith); Introd. to The Called of God (with portrait), pp. 3-58; complete list of publications in Expos. Times, July 1904, pp. 450 seq.]
DAVIDSON, CHARLES (1824–1902), water-colour painter, born in London, of Scottish parents, on 30 July 1824, was left an orphan at an early age. After education at a school in Chelsea, he apprenticed himself to a seedsman and market-gardener at Brompton. At the end of a year he forfeited his premium in order to study music, but finally decided on painting, and worked for some years under John Absolon, a member of the New Water Colour Society (now the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours). Of that society he was himself elected an associate in 1847 and a member in 1849. He resigned his membership in 1853, and on 12 Feb. 1855 was elected an associate of the Old Water Colour Society (now the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours); he became a full member on 14 June 1858 and an honorary retired member in 1897. A friend of John Linnell, Samuel Palmer, and the Varleys, he soon established a high reputation. He exhibited from 1844 to 1902 at the Old Water Colour Society (where over 800 of his works appeared), at the New Water Colour Society, the Royal Academy, the British Institution, the Royal Society of British Artists, and elsewhere. His subjects were chiefly typical English landscapes, and he was skilful in depicting the homely scenes of the countryside. He worked a good deal in Wales. A few of his paintings were chromolithographed by Messrs. Day & Son.
Davidson resided for about twenty-eight years at Redhill, Surrey, and from 1882 at Trevena, Falmouth, where he died on 19 April 1902. About 1843 he married a sister of Francis William Topham [q. v.]; he had two sons and four daughters, the eldest of whom became the wife of Frank Holl, R.A. [q. v.]. The Victoria and Albert Museum owns six water-colour drawings by Davidson; four of them are at the Bethnal Green Museum.
[Private information; Graves, Dict. of Artists; A. M. Reynolds, Life of Frank Holl, 1912, pp. 36-40; Cat. of Water Colours, Victoria and Albert Museum; The Year's Art, 1890, p. 32 (portrait); W. J. Stillman, Autobiog. of a Journalist, 1901, pp. 110-2; The Times, 22 April 1902.]
DAVIDSON, JOHN (1857–1909), poet, son of Alexander Davidson, minister of the Evangelical Union, by his wife Helen, daughter of Alexander Crockett of Elgin, was born at Barrhead, Renfrewshire, on 11 April 1857. Put to school at the Highlanders' Academy, Greenock, his education was soon interrupted. At the age of thirteen he entered the chemical laboratory of Walker's sugar house at Greenock (1870), and in 1871 became assistant to the town analyst there. In these employments he developed an interest in science which became an important characteristic of his poetry. In 1872 he returned for four years to the Highlanders' Academy as a pupil-teacher, and, after a year at Edinburgh University (1876-7), received in 1877 his first scholastic employment at Alexander's Charity, Glasgow. During the next six years he held positions in the following schools:
