Stephen Reay (29 March 1782 – 20 January 1861) was a Scottish academic and clergyman, who was Laudian Professor of Arabic from 1840 until his death.
[2][3] He was ordained at Chester Cathedral in 1806 before serving as a curate in Shotwick, Cheshire, and then in Haslingden, Lancashire, where he met Eleonara Hargreave, who he later married.
[3] He acted as Vice-Principal of St Alban Hall for some years, and was appointed Laudian Professor of Arabic in 1840.
He wrote a pamphlet, "Observations on the defence of the Church Missionary Society against the objections of the Archdeacon of Bath" (1818) under the pseudonym "Pileus Quadratus", and edited two texts, Narratio de Josepho e sacro codice (1822) and Textus Hebraicus (1840).
[2] He was remembered for his "kindness of heart and courtesy of manner", and was described in an obituary as "a most genuine Christian character" and one who was "never heard to utter an unkind word of anybody".