James Alexander Robertson (August 19, 1873 – March 20, 1939) was an American academic
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
,
archivist
An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...
, translator and
bibliographer
Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
. He is most noted for his contributions to the history and
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and other former territorial possessions of the
Viceroyalty of New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...
.
Life
James Alexander Robertson was born 1873 in
Corry, Pennsylvania
Corry is a city in northwestern Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 6,217 at the 2020 United States Census, it is the second largest city in Erie County. Corry is a part of the Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city became ...
. He was the sixth of eight children born to Canadian parents, who became naturalized U.S. citizens after relocating to Corry in 1866. His father, John McGregor Robertson, was a building contractor originally from
Verulam, Ontario, near
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
. His mother, Elizabeth Borrowman Robertson, had emigrated to Canada from her native Scotland as a child.
[Wilgus (1970, p.3)]
Robertson's mother died when he was seven. Three years later he and his family moved to
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, where James completed his secondary education.
In 1892 he enrolled for graduate studies at
Western Reserve University's Adelbert College. He majored in the study of
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...
, specializing in
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
, and was awarded his
Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...
degree from Western Reserve in 1896.
In 1902 Robertson became involved in the compilation of a massive multivolume work on the
history of the Philippines
Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...
, initially called ''The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803''.
[As the scope of the work developed, the collective title would be later revised to '']The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''.
On the completion of the ''Philippine Islands'' project Robertson went to the
Carnegie Institution of Washington
The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...
to work in its historical research department (1909–10). In 1910 he moved to
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
and became bibliographer and librarian at the
National Library of the Philippines
The National Library of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Aklatan ng Pilipinas or ''Aklatang Pambansa ng Pilipinas'', abbreviated NLP, es, Biblioteca Nacional de Filipinas) is the official national library of the Philippines. The complex is l ...
for the next six years. During his time in the Philippines Robertson was instrumental in establishing
library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
as a discipline for instruction at the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
.
Robertson returned to the U.S. and Washington in 1917, taking up a position with the federal Department of Commerce. In 1918 Robertson was the founding editor of the ''
Hispanic American Historical Review
''The Hispanic American Historical Review'' is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal of Latin American history, the official publication of the Conference on Latin American History, the professional organization of Latin American historians ...
'', an
academic journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...
devoted to Latin American and Hispanic history. He remained the journal's editor-in-chief until his death.
In 1923 he gained a position as professor at
Stetson University
Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...
in
DeLand, Florida
DeLand is a city in central Florida. It is the county seat of Volusia County. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. As of the 2020 ...
, and lectured there for the next ten years. In 1935 he moved to
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, as the archivist for the
Maryland State Archives
The Maryland State Archives serves as the central depository for government records of permanent value. Its holdings date from Maryland's founding in 1634, and include colonial and state executive, legislative, and judicial records; county prob ...
' Hall of Records.
Robertson died three years later on March 20, 1939 in Annapolis.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, James Alexander
1873 births
1939 deaths
People from Corry, Pennsylvania
Historians from Pennsylvania
Case Western Reserve University alumni
University of the Philippines faculty
Stetson University faculty
Spanish–English translators
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Canadian descent