The Hon William Robertson, Lord Robertson (5 December 1753 – 20 November 1835) was an 18th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

Life

Robertson was born on 5 December 1753 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the first son of Mary Nisbet and her husband William Robertson. His grandfather at the time of his birth was minister of

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

and the extended family all lived together in Edinburgh. In 1759 his father was appointed Chaplain of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

and the family lived there for a short while. In 1762 his father took over the ministry of

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Kirk () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edinburgh, f ...

and soon after (1762) became

Principal of the University of Edinburgh Principals of the University of Edinburgh * 1586 Robert Rollock (Regent from 1583 to 1586) * 1599 Henry Charteris * 1620 Patrick Sands * 1622 Robert Boyd * 1623 John Adamson (died in office in 1652 but the original successor, William Co ...

. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Edinburgh then from 1765 studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1771 he became a member of the Old Revolution Club (a Jacobite sympathising group). He was admitted to the Scottish Bar as an advocate in 1775 and in 1779 became Procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In 1783 he was a Founding Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

. In 1805 he was elected a

in succession to David Ross, Lord Ankerville. Robertson lived then at 9

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

. He retired in 1826 and died in Edinburgh on 20 November 1835. He is buried in the family mausoleum in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

Family

He married twice: in 1790 to Janet Boyd Robertson and following her early death in 1794 married Isabella Cockburn (d.1833) in 1796. He had no children by either marriage. Through the marriages of his sister he was brother-in-law to both Patrick Brydone and John Russell, co-founder of the

. His brothers were General James Robertson (d.1845) and David Robertson, who later renamed himself David Robertson MacDonald.

Artistic recognition

He was sculpted in office by John Henning and painted in 1805 by

Sir Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a for ...

. Both are held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

but are rarely displayed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, William 1753 births Lawyers from Edinburgh Scottish lawyers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Senators of the College of Justice Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 1835 deaths