Sir John Robison KH

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FRSSA The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicated ...

(11 June 1778 – 7 March 1843) was a Scottish inventor and writer on scientific subjects. He was the son of the physicist and mathematician, Professor John Robison.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 11 June 1778, the son of Rachel Wright and John Robison.

Education and first job

Robison was educated at the High School in Edinburgh and then studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Around 1795 he entered the cotton-spinning industry, first in Paisley and then moving south to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Hyderabad, India

In 1802 he entered the service of

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

as a contractor for the establishment and maintenance of military service. He left India a wealthy man, in 1815.

Edinburgh

In 1816 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

and served as its General Secretary from 1828 to 1840. His proposers were

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...

and James Jardine. In 1821, with

he jointly founded the

Scottish Society of Arts The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicated ...

. He served as its Secretary from foundation until 1824, Vice President 1828-9 and 1833–4, and as President 1841–2. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 9 Atholl Crescent, a large townhouse in Edinburgh's west end.

Law Enforcement

From 1834 he was the Edinburgh Commissioner of Police. He received the

Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

in 1837 from William IV and knighted in 1838. He founded the Royal Scottish Society of Art in 1841 and served as its first President.

Death

He died at his final house in Edinburgh, 13 Randolph Crescent, on 7 March 1843. A memorial exists to Sir John Robison on the south wall of St John's Episcopal Church in

a few hundred yards east of his house.

Notable Inventions

seeOxford Dictionary of National Biography: John Robison *Tapered wood screws (1829) *Pneumatic cheese press (1830) *Furniture

casters A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved. Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, to ...

(1835) *Improved

gas cooker A gas stove is a stove that is fuelled by combustible gas such as syngas, natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas. Before the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuels such as coal or wood. The first ...

(1839) *Improved

gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directl ...

(1839) *Improved

camera lucida A ''camera lucida'' is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists and microscopists. The ''camera lucida'' performs an optical superimposition of the subject being viewed upon the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist se ...

(1841) *Machine for creating curved files (1842) *

Family

He married twice, firstly in 1816 to Jean Grahame who died in 1824 and secondly to Miss Benson who died in 1837. His granddaughters were the novelists

Emily Gerard (Jane) Emily Gerard (7 May 1849 – 11 January 1905) was a Scottish 19th-century author best known for the influence her collections of Transylvanian folklore had on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula''. Life Early life Emily Gerard was bo ...

(1849-1905) and

Dorothea Gerard Dorothea Mary Stanislaus Gerard (Mme Longard de Longgarde, 9 August 1855 – 29 September 1915) was a Scottish-born novelist and romance-writer who often wrote about controversial and unconventional subjects and "whose general conservatism co-e ...

(1855-1915).

References

* 1778 births 1843 deaths 19th-century Scottish scientists Engineers from Edinburgh Scottish inventors People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British mercenaries Scottish lexicographers {{Scotland-writer-stub