William Collins (publisher)

William Collins
William Collins
ChurchFree Church of Scotland
Personal details
Born12 October 1789
Died2 January 1853 (aged 63)
Rothesay, Buteshire, Scotland
NationalityScottish
DenominationChristianity

William Collins (12 October 1789 – 2 January 1853) was a Scottish schoolmaster, editor and publisher who founded William Collins, Sons, now part of HarperCollins.[1][2] William Collins was born at Eastwood, Renfrewshire, on 12 October 1789.[3] He was a millworker who established a company in 1819 for printing and publishing. The business eventually published pamphlets, sermons, hymn books and prayer books as well as a wide range of office products. By 1824 he had produced the company's first dictionary, the Greek and English Lexicon. He was instrumental in bringing Thomas Chalmers from Kilmany to Glasgow. He also obtained a licence to publish the Bible in the 1840s. He was promoter of Scotland's first temperance movement. He founded the Glasgow Church Building Society which created 20 new churches.[4] He died on 2 January 1853 at Rothesay, Buteshire.[1]