Alberto Federico Billour 
Biography of Alberto Federico Billour
Alberto Billour
Alberto Federico Billour enrolled at the University of Glasgow in 1893 for one year to study English Literature. He was part of a pioneering group of Italian Protestant missionaries, predominantly from the Piedmont region, who, in the late 19th century, travelled as far as North America and Canada to set up their own Waldensian communities.
Alberto Billour was born on the 22 July 1866 in Torre Pelice, Turin, Italy, son of Daniele Billour the headmaster of the local evangelical school, Vallecrosia. He was raised, like many other young men in the region, to become a Waldensian pastor. From 1891 to 1893, Billour worked alongside pastor Giovanni Pons as a missionary to Naples and Switzerland. He went on to matriculate at the University of Glasgow in 1893 to study English Literature under Professor Andrew Cecil Bradley. The Waldensian community of Piedmont had long-standing ties with Scotland and Billour was one of many Italians that took advantage of studying abroad.
Having completed his studies in Glasgow, he was invited to serve the French and Italian Waldensian communities in Spring Valley, South Carolina, where he stayed until 1898. From 1898 to 1911 Billour was the minister at a Waldensian church in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
He returned to Torre Pelice, succeeding his father as the headmaster of the Waldensian school. In 1926 he became the minister of a church in Brindisi until 1928, and later moved to Florence where he spent his remaining years. Billour died on the 25 November 1938.
Sources
Other Online Resources
Archival Materials
- DC183/11/27 General Council Register 1900
- R8/5/14/1 Matriculation Slips 1893-4 A-B
- R9/1/8 Class Catalogue 1890-95
Summary
Alberto Federico Billour
Born 22 July 1866.
Died 25 November 1938.
GU Degree: Arts, 1893;
University Link: Student
Occupation categories: clergy
English snippet: Arts student of the University of Glasgow in 1893Record last updated: 7th Jan 2014
Country Associations
Italy, Piemonte, Torre Pelice
Place of Birth
Italy, Florence
Place of Death
United States, Pennsylvania, Pittsburg
University Connections
University Roles
- Student
