Joseph Robertson (1726–1802) was an English clergyman and writer.

Life

Born at Knipe, Westmoreland, on 28 August 1726, he was the son of a

maltster Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most ...

from a family of Rutter, Appleby. His mother was the only daughter of Edward Stevenson of Knipe, a relative of

Edmund Gibson Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary. Early life and career He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's Coll ...

. Robertson was educated at the free school at Appleby, and on 17 March 1746 matriculated from

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

. He graduated B.A. on 19 Oct. 1749, and took holy orders about 1752, being appointed curate to Dr. Sykes at

Rayleigh, Essex Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in Essex, England; it is located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, east of central London. It had a population of 32,150 at the census in 2011. Toponymy The name ''Rayleigh'' is Old English ...

. In 1758 he was presented to the living of Herriard in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and married. He became rector of

Sutton, Essex Sutton is a village and civil parish in the District of Rochford in Essex, England. It is located between the River Roach and the adjoining Borough of Southend-on-Sea, and includes the hamlet of Shopland. It has a population of 127, increasin ...

, in 1770, and in 1779 vicar of St. Mary's Church, Horncastle, by the gift of his relative

Edmund Law Edmund Law (6 June 1703 – 14 August 1787) was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlisle ...

. Robertson died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

on 19 January 1802, in his seventy-sixth year. His wife, a daughter of Timothy Raikes, chemist, of London, survived him, but his children all died in infancy.

Works

Robertson was a prolific writer with a reputation as a critic. In 1772 he revised for the press Gregory Sharpe's posthumous sermons, and in the same year edited

Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of Englan ...

's ''Discourses on Government'', at the request of Thomas Hollis. In ''

The Critical Review ''The Critical Review'' was a British publication appearing from 1756 to 1817. It was first edited by Tobias Smollett, from 1756 to 1763. Contributors included Samuel Johnson, David Hume, John Hunter, and Oliver Goldsmith. Early years The ...

'' he contributed over 2,600 articles between 1764 and 1785. He also wrote in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'', and produced a learned work on the authenticity of the ''

Parian Chronicle The Parian Chronicle or Parian Marble ( la, Marmor Parium, Mar. Par.) is a Greek chronology, covering the years from 1582 BC to 299 BC, inscribed on a stele. Found on the island of Paros in two sections, and sold in Smyrna in the early 1 ...

'' (London, 1788), which was answered by

John Hewlett John Hewlett (1762–13 April 1844) was a prominent biblical scholar in nineteenth-century England. Hewlett was born in Chetnole, Dorset to Timothy Hewlett. In his early 20s he established a school in Shacklewell, Hackney. During this period, h ...

. Other works included sermons, a translation of

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of '' Th ...

's ''

Les Aventures de Télémaque :''"Les Aventures de Télémaque" is also the title of a 1922 seven-chapter story by Louis Aragon.'' ''Les aventures de Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse'' (English: ''The adventures of Telemachus, son of Ulysses'') is a didactic novel by François F ...

'' (1795), and: * ''A Letter to Sauxay on the Case of Miss Butterfield, a Young Woman charged with Murder'', London, 1775, with ''Observations on the same'', 1776. * ''Essay on Culinary Poisons'', London, 1781. * ''Introduction to the Study of Polite Literature'', London, 1782; other editions 1785, 1799, and 1808. * ''An Essay on Punctuation'', London, 1785; 5th edit. London, 1808; answered by David Steel in ''Remarks on an Essay'', London, 1786. * ''Observations on the Act for augmenting the Salaries of Curates'', published under the name of Eusebius, Vicar of Lilliput, London, 1797. * ''An Essay on the Education of Young Ladies'', 1798. * ''Essay on the Nature of English Verse'', London, 1799; 5th edit., 1808.

References

* ;Attribution *

External links

*
The Parian chronicle, or The chronicle of the Arundelian marbles; with a dissertation concerning its authenticity
', 1788, from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Joseph 1726 births 1802 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests English writers English male writers People from Garden Route District Municipality Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford