Robert Boog Watson FRSE (26 September 1823 – 23 June 1910) was a Scottish

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

and minister of the Free Church of Scotland best known as the author of the report on the Scaphopoda and Gastropoda collected during the H.M.S. ''Challenger'' expedition to survey the world's oceans from 1873 to 1876. Watson also described various Opisthobranchia from Madeira.

Life

The grave of Rev Robert Boog Watson, Dean Cemetery

He was born in Burntisland in Fife, the son of the Rev Dr Charles Watson DD (1794-1866) of Burntisland and Isabella Boog. His brother, Sir Patrick Heron Watson was an eminent surgeon and a pioneer of modern dentistry. The family moved permanently to

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

around 1840, living at 19 Royal Terrace on

Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...

. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

. He served as Chaplain to the Highland Brigade during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, and later in Madeira. In 1858 he was living with his wife in Bombay in India. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1862. During his stay in Edinburgh he lived with his brother Patrick Heron Watson at Hope Street off

Charlotte Square 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intend ...

. From 1864 to 1874 he served on the island of Madeira. From 1877 onwards he is recorded as living at 19 Chalmers Street on the south side of

. He died in Edinburgh and is buried in the south-west section of

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

with his wife Janet. The grave lies in the eastern row facing west. It bears the inscription "Worthy is the Lamb that was Slain".

Family

In 1857 he was married to Janet Cowan (1831-1912) daughter of

Alexander Cowan Alexander Cowan (17 June 1775 – 13 February 1859) was a Scottish papermaker and philanthropist. He was a cousin and friend of Thomas Chalmers, the prominent Scottish minister. Through his business he was a friend and associate of the publishe ...

of Valleyfield. Their daughter, the writer Helen Brodie Cowan Watson, married Major General

William Burney Bannerman Major General William Burney Bannerman CSI FRSE (6 July 1858 – 3 February 1924) was a 19th and 20th century high-ranking Scottish military surgeon who worked in the Indian Medical Service. As director of the plague research laboratory, he con ...

FRSE (1858–1924), the son of Rev James Bannerman. Their son was the engineer and antiquarian Charles Brodie Boog Watson FRSE (1858-1947) and granddaughter was writer and broadcaster

Elspeth Janet Boog Watson Elspeth Jane Boog Watson sometimes Boog-Watson (15 May 1900 – 28 June 1980) was a teacher, writer and broadcaster. Early life and family Born in Levenhall near Musselburgh on 15 May 1900 to Charles Boog Watson and his wife Jane Ballantine ...

. He was related through the marriage of Jane Elisabeth Boog to the Very Rev

Matthew Leishman Matthew Leishman (27 April 1794 – 8 August 1874) was a Scottish minister. He served as minister of Govan Old Parish Church for 53 years, during which he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1858. Life He wa ...

Govan Old Parish Church Govan Old Parish Church is the name of the original parish church serving Govan in Glasgow from the 5th or 6th century AD until 2007. In that year, the Church of Scotland united the two Govan congregations with Linthouse and established the paris ...

. He was also related through his aunt, Christian Boog, to Mary Somerville, making her a distant aunt.

Publications

*''Geology of Luneburg'' *''The Great Drift Beds with Shells in the South of Arran'' *''Disruption in the Church of Canton de Vaud, Switzerland'' * *

References

Sources

*
Robert Boog Watson B.A., F.R.S.E., F.L.S, ''Mollusca of H.M.S. ‘Challenger’ Expedition.—Part VIII''; Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, Volume 15, Issue 87, pages 388–412, October 1881
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Robert Boog Scottish zoologists 1823 births 1910 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy People from Burntisland 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland British malacologists