Sir Robert Liston, GCB

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 ...

PC (8 October 1742 – 15 July 1836) was a Scottish diplomat and ambassador to several countries.

Biography

Liston was born at Overtoun House in

Kirkliston Kirkliston is a small town and parish to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, historically within the county of West Lothian but now within the City of Edinburgh council limits. It lies on high ground immediately north of a northward loop of the Al ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the son of Patrick Liston of Torbanehill,

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

. He studied languages 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 ...

, and then tutored the sons of the

Earl of Minto Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...

. 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 ...

in 1784. His proposers were

Andrew Dalzell Andrew Dalzell (sometimes shown as Andrew Dalzel or Andrew Dalziel) FRSE (1742–1806) was a Scottish scholar and prominent figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Life He wa ...

, William Robertson, and John Drysdale. He was granted an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1785. Said to be able to speak ten languages, Liston joined the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

and enjoyed a career spanning

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

appointed on 22 September 1793, eventually arriving at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

on 19 May 1794. He hated it there and left on 4 November 1795. In a promotion he was posted to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1796 he married the heiress Henrietta Marchant of

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

. Henrietta's charm and social tact were a great asset to her husband; she also kept an interesting diary in which she records favourable impressions of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, and an unfavourable impression of Talleyrand. Robert was also on excellent terms with Washington, though relations cooled somewhat after Adams' election. On 26 March 1812 he was sworn a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and on 21 October 1816, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Bath. He served for a second time as ambassador to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

from 1812, finally retiring from the post in 1820. The family lived at Millburn Tower in

Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Stati ...

. Liston's wife, Henrietta Marchant, died in 1828 and he died at home in 1836. They had no children. He and his wife are buried in the graveyard of

Gogar Gogar is a predominantly rural area of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the west of the city. It is not far from Gogarloch, Edinburgh Park and Maybury. The Fife Circle Line is to the north. Etymology The name of Gogar first appears in a clearly ...

Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

. Liston has bought the kirk and burial ground and built a family

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

at the site. However, when the kirk was rebuilt in 1890, as there were no descendants to save it, the mausoleum was demolished. It was replaced with a memorial

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

Timeline of career

*Secretary of Embassy to the King of Spain (12 March 1783) *Minister plenipotentiary to Spain (1784) *Ambassador to Sweden (1788–1793) * Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1 October 1793 – 1796) *Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States (10 March 1796 – 1800) *Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Batavian republic (14 August 1802) *Extraordinary mission to the King of Denmark (23 June 1803) *Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (2 March 1812 - 1820)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liston, Robert 1742 births 1836 deaths Ambassadors of Great Britain to the Ottoman Empire Ambassadors of Great Britain to Sweden Ambassadors of Great Britain to the United States Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 18th-century Scottish people 19th-century Scottish people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Ottoman Empire Ambassadors of Great Britain to Spain

Biography

Timeline of career

See also

References