David Welsh (11 December 1793 – 24 April 1845) was a Scots divine and academic.
In the 1820s, Welsh was notable for his attempt to forge an alliance between the evangelicals and the phrenologists - then at the height of their influence. However, Welsh was out-manoevered by George Combe (the "high priest" of the phrenologists) who prohibited all discussion of religious matters at phrenological meetings. Not for the last time, Welsh was to preside over a major disruptive split. Welsh was professor of Church History in the University of Edinburgh. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on the occasion of the Disruption of 1843, and headed the secession on the day of the exodus. He then chaired the first General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. His pseudonym was 'features' SYT.
David Welsh was married to Mary Hamiltun in Glasgow on 1 June 1830. They had four children:
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.