Transfer of Rectorship to Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 1665

On 10 November 1665, the Town Council of Edinburgh ruled 'that the Lord Provost, present and to come', should always serve as Rector of Edinburgh University. The Rectorship had existed as a distinct role since 1620, when Andrew Ramsay (1574–1659) was appointed to the post. The Rector's duties had only been clearly defined, however, since the appointment of Alexander Henderson (c1583–1646) in 1640. As Rector, Henderson functioned as a supervisor or inspector on the Council’s behalf, but also as the spokesman for the College when making overtures to the Council. The transfer of the Rectorship to the Lord Provost appears to have been an act of self-assertion on the Town Council's part. They appear to have felt slighted by William Colvill, Principal of the University, whom they believed had given greater importance to the College of Justice than to the council when choosing a Professor of Humanity. On the same day as transfering the Rectorship, they called Colville to appear before the Council and be 'gently reproved' for abusing his authority.

University historians such as Sir Alexander Grant (1826-1884) have rued the short-sightedness of the Town Council in depriving themselves of their 'eye' at the University and the University of a mouthpiece in Council sessions. Grant argues that the Lord Provost acquired no greater authority from assuming the rectorship, and indeed the title soon became purely ceremonial. By 1838, the Lord Provost Sir James Forrest of Comiston declared himself uncertain whether he was Rector or not at the trial of students following a 'snow riot'. The Rectorship was formally reconstituted as a discrete post following the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, and is now elected by staff and matriculated students.