Alexander MacLaren

Alexander MacLaren (1826-1910) was a Baptist minister. Born in Glasgow to Baptist parents, he was baptized in 1840 and trained at Stepney College. He ministered successfully at Portland Chapel, Southampton (1846-58), and Union Chapel, Manchester (1858-1903), where he acquired the reputation of "the prince of expository preachers." MacLaren was twice president of the Baptist Union and chairman of its Twentieth Century Fund and the first president of the Baptist World Alliance (1905). He strove unsuccessfully to unite the Baptist and Congregational denominations, but saw the establishment of many "Union" churches at a local level.