James Hastings (1852-1922) was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and died in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He graduated with a M.A. in classics from the University of Aberdeen in 1876. He attended the Free Church Divinity College in Aberdeen and was ordained as a Free Church minister in 1884. That same year, he married Ann W. Hastings (b. Forsyth). In 1889, Hastings founded the Expository Times, an academic journal on biblical studies, theology, and ministry, which he edited until his death. Hastings was minister at Kineff Free Church in Kincardineshire, Scotland, from 1884 until 1897. From 1901 until his retirement in 1911, he was the minister at the United Free Church in St. Cyrus, Aberdeenshire. He received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from the University of Aberdeen (1897) and Queen's University in Nova Scotia, Canada (1920). Hastings is best known for producing major reference works, including a 5-volume Dictionary of the Bible (1898-1904) and a 13-volume Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (1908-1921).

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