Robert Beatson, LL.D.

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 ...

FSA (1741–1818) was a Scottish compiler and miscellaneous writer.

Life

He was born on 25 June 1741 at Dysart in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland, the son of David Beatson of Vicarsgrange. He was educated for the military profession, and on one of his title-pages describes himself as 'late of his majesty's

corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

'. The ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' states it was probably as a

subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

in this corps that he accompanied the unsuccessful expedition against

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

in 1757 (but he was only 15 years old and he is not listed by the Corps History as being an engineer on the expedition), and was present with the force which, reaching the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

early in 1759, failed in the attack on

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, but succeeded in capturing

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

. He is represented in 1766 as retiring on half-pay, and as failing, in spite of repeated applications, to secure active employment during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. However, in 1784 Beatson was a first lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and was stationed in Scotland.''The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers'', Volume I,

Whitworth Porter Whitworth Porter (1827–1892) was an English Major General of the Royal Engineers, known also as a historical writer. Life The second son of Henry Porter, of Winslade House, South Devon, he was born at Winslade, near Exeter, on 25 September 182 ...

, Chatham 1889, p216. Afterwards he seems to have farmed in Scotland. He became an honorary member of the Board of Agriculture, of the Royal Highland Society of Scotland, and of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. He died at Edinburgh on 24 January 1818. One obituary notice describes him as "late barrack-master at Aberdeen". It is uncertain whether Edinburgh or Aberdeen university conferred on him his degree of LL.D.

Works

*In 1786 Beatson published in three parts his 'Political Index to the Histories of Great Britain and Ireland, or a complete register of the hereditary honours, public offices, and persons in office from the earliest periods to the present time'. It was dedicated to the author's friend

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

. In 1788 it reached a second edition, in two volumes, containing nearly twice as much matter as the first, and a third edition in 1806. *In 1790 appeared, in three volumes, Beatson's
Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain, from the year 1727 to the present time
', in which the naval element predominates. It has lists of the ships in the squadrons and fleets of France and Spain as well as of Great Britain during the period dealt with, and also despatches, state papers, and geographical descriptions of the places referred to in the text. *In 1807 appeared three volumes of ''A Chronological Register of both Houses of Parliament from the Union in 1708 to the Third Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland''. Besides lists of peers qualified to sit in each parliament, bounties and boroughs alphabetically arranged are given in chronological order, with the names of their members in every House of Commons during the period, and notes on the changes, with their causes, in the representation of each constituency. Election petitions and the decisions on them are given with a statement of the elective authority, and of the nature of the electoral franchise in each constituency. *Beatson was also the author of a pamphlet on the

Battle of Ushant (1778) The Battle of Ushant (also called the First Battle of Ushant) took place on 27 July 1778, and was fought during the American Revolutionary War between French and British fleets west of Ushant, an island at the mouth of the English Channel off ...

: ''A New and Distinct View of the memorable Action of the 27 July 1778, in which the Aspersions cast on the Flag Officers are shown to be totally unfounded''.

Namesakes

The present Robert Beatson has often been confused (including by sources of his time) with two other writers of the same name: * Robert Beatson (1730–1805) of Kilrie, writer on windmills; father of Helena Beatson and Maj.-Gen. Alexander Beatson. * Robert Beatson (1732–1815) of Pitteadie, writer on the agriculture of Fife.Alexander John Beatson (1860), ''Genealogical account of the family of Beatson'', p
9
number III

Notes

References

;Attribution ;Endnotes: *Beatson's writings *Gentlemen's Magazine for April 1818; *Annual Biography and Obituary for 1819
Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland
1816
Beatson, Robert, Esq. LL.D. F.R.S. Edin., page 18

External links