David Donaldson Robertson (21 March 1869 – 13 September 1937) was a Scottish sportsman who represented Great Britain and Ireland at

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

in the 1900 Summer Olympics, and also played international rugby for the

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Personal history

Robertson was born in

Shawlands Shawlands ( gd, Fearann na Doire) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, located around south of the River Clyde. The area, considered the "Heart of the Southside", is known for its independent restaurants and cafés, art scene, public parks, period ...

, Glasgow, Scotland to William Alexander Robertson, a wine merchant. He was educated at Haileybury School in Hertfordshire before entering

the Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

; he later studied at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

before matriculating to Christ's College, Cambridge in 1889.Fletcher Robinson & Rugby (Part VI), bfronline.biz
. Retrieved on 12 July 2009. He received his BA in 1893 and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1895. With the outbreak of the First World War, Robertson joined the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

, Anti-Aircraft Division. Robertson died aged 68 in Idstone, Berkshire, England.

Rugby career

Robertson first came to note as a rugby player when he represented

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in the 1892

Varsity match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...

. The 1893 game was a huge disappointment after heavy rainfall turned the Queen's Club ground into mud. Although both teams came to the match with excellent reputations for exciting play, the game "degenerated into a scramble in the mud"; and the game ended in a nil-nil draw. While still representing Cambridge at club level, Robertson was selected Scotland for a rugby international against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

as part of the 1893 Home Nations Championship. The Welsh used the four three-quarter tactic to great effect and Scotland were well beaten on their own ground, 9–0. The Scottish selectors acted angrily towards the back positions, making six changes. Robertson was one of those dropped, and never represented Scotland at rugby again.

Golf career

In 1900 he won the bronze medal in the men's competition in golf at the Olympics.

References

External links

* * * Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Glasgow Amateur golfers British Army personnel of World War I Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Golfers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Golfers from Glasgow Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic golfers of Great Britain Olympic medalists in golf People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College People educated at the Glasgow Academy Royal Navy personnel of World War I Rugby union players from Glasgow Rugby union three-quarters Scotland international rugby union players Scottish male golfers Scottish Olympic medallists Scottish rugby union players 1869 births 1937 deaths {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub