John Baillie was born in 1886, the son of Rev John Baillie (1829-1891), Free Church minister at Gairloch, Ross & Cromarty in the north-west of Scotland, and his wife Annie Macpherson. Following the death of his father, the family home was in Inverness and he was educated at Inverness Royal Academy and the University of Edinburgh. More study was undertaken at both Jena and Marburg and he held assistant positions at the University of Edinburgh before entering the church, as an assistant in 1912 and then being ordained in 1920.

The First World War saw Baillie playing an active role in both the YMCA and the British Expeditionary Force. The end of that war saw the start of his academic career and his married life. He held number of chairs at the Auburn and Union Thoeological Seminaries in New York and at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto, but he eventually returned to Edinburgh to become Professor of Divinity at New College in 1934. The rest of his professional life saw him returning to North America on a regular basis.

The advent of the Second World War saw Baillie use the North American links he had maintained to help persuade US entry into the conflict. He was elected as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and became Dean of the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh in 1950, holding this position until retrial six years later. A member of both the British Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, he became a President of the latter.

John Baillie's father was John Baillie, Free Church Minister at Gairloch. One brother was Donald Macpherson, who held the Chair of Systematic Theology at the University of St. Andrews, the other was Peter Baillie (1889-1914), missionary doctor. Their cousin was Sir Duncan Colvin Baillie (1856-1919), colonial administrator.

Notable publications:

The place of Jesus Christ in modern Christianity, (1929)

Interpretation of religion, (1929)

And the life everlasting, (1933)

A Diary of private prayer, (1939)

Our knowledge of God, (1939)

Invitation to pilgrimage, (1942)

What is Christian civilization?, ( 1945)

Belief in progress , (1950)

Natural science and the spiritual life, ( 1951)

A Diary of readings , (1955)

The Idea of revelation in recent thought, ( 1956)

Regeneración y conversión, (1956)

Christian Devotion, (1962)

Sense of the presence of God, (1962)

A Reasoned faith, (1963)

Baptism and conversion, (1964)

c1903: Gold Medallist in Classics, Inverness Royal Academy

1908: M.A. (1st Class Honours) Philosophy, University of Edinburgh

1928: D.Litt., University of Edinburgh

1930: Honorary D.D., University of Edinburgh

1930: Honorary D.D., Victoria University, Toronto

1933: Honorary S.T.D., Dickinson College, USA

1934: Honorary D.D., Yale University

1948: Honorary LL.D., Muhlenberg College, USA

1948: Honorary D.D., Princeton University

1954: Honorary L.H.D., Wooster College, Ohio

1956: Honorary D.Theol., University of Strasbourg

1956: Honorary D.Theol., University of Budapest

1958: Honorary D.Theol., University of Jena

1909-1912: Assistant in Philosophy, University of Edinburgh

1912-1914: Assistant Minister, Broughton Place Church, Edinburgh

1917-1919: Assistant Director of Education on Lines of Communication, France

1917-1919: Examiner in Philosophy, University of Edinburgh

1920: Ordained

1919-1927: Richards Professor of Theology, Auburn Theological Seminary, New York

1927-1930: Professor of Systematic Theology, Emmanuel College, University of Toronto

1930: Roosevelt Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York

1930-1934: Roosevelt Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York

1934-1956: Professor of Divinity, University of Edinburgh

1935-1938: Examiner in Theology, University of Glasgow

1940: Director of Educational Services with the YMCA with the BEF

1940-1945: Convenor of Church of Scotland Commission on the Interpretation of God's Will in the Present Crisis

1943-1944: Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

1946-1950: Member of Edinburgh University Court

1950-1956: Principal of New College Edinburgh and Dean of the Faculty of Divinity

1954-1960: Co-President of the World Council of Churches

1958-1960: President of the University of Edinburgh Graduates Association

1947-1952: Chaplain to the King in Scotland

1952-1956: Chaplain to the Queen in Scotland

1956-1960: Extra Chaplain to the Queen in Scotland

List of sources for the biographical information:

Who Was Who, 1951-1960, (London, Adam & Charles Black, c1961)