Three ministers of Old Greyfriars were elected moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland during their incumbencies: George Kay in 1755, William Robertson in 1763, John Inglis in 1804. Two ministers of New Greyfriars were elected to this role during their incumbencies: Robert Henry in 1774 and James Nicoll Ogilvie in 1918. In 2003, Alison Elliot, an elder of Greyfriars, was elected to serve as moderator of the 2004 General Assembly. Elliot was the first woman moderator and the first lay person to hold the office since George Buchanan in 1567. Other notable ministers of Greyfriars include the Covenanters, Robert Douglas, Robert Traill, and Gilbert Rule; the statesman, William Carstares; the philanthropist, Thomas Guthrie; and the liturgical reformer, Robert Lee.