Archibald Robertson (physician)

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Archibald Robertson
Born(1789-12-03)3 December 1789
Cockburnspath, Scotland
Died19 October 1864(1864-10-19) (aged 74)
Clifton, Bristol, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1808–1815
RankShip's Surgeon
Battles/warsNapoleonic Wars
War of 1812
Other workPhysician and writer

Archibald Robertson FRS FRSE (3 December 1789 in Cockburnspath, near Dunbar – 19 October 1864 in Clifton, Bristol)[1] was a Scottish physician and medical author who had a notable naval career,[2] followed by a long private practice.[3]

Biography[edit]

In 1808 Robertson became assistant surgeon at Mill Prison hospital for French prisoners at Plymouth.[4] In 1809 he was in Lord Gambier's flagship Caledonia in Basque roads, when Lord Dundonald tried to burn the French fleet. He then served in the Baltic, and afterwards in the West Indies, in the Persian and the Cydnus, besides boat service in the attempt on New Orleans. At the peace of 1815 with the United States he went on half-pay, having received a medal with two clasps.[3]

In 1818 he settled in Northampton, where he obtained a lucrative practice. In 1820 he was elected physician to the Northampton infirmary.[5] In 1853 he retired to Clifton. On 11 February 1836 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, and in the same year became a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[3] In 1844 he served as president of the British Medical Association.[6]

Education[edit]

Robertson studied at Duns school, and thereafter with Mr. Strachan in Berwickshire. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, graduating MB ChB in 1808 and a doctorate (MD) from Edinburgh in 1817. He wrote his thesis on the dysentery of hot climates.

Family[edit]

He was married to Lucy.[7] Their children included the Rev. George Samuel Robertson (1825–1874), M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford, the father of Archibald Robertson (1853–1931), bishop of Exeter.[3]

Publications[edit]

Robertson wrote:[3]

  • De Dysenteria regionum calidarum (1817)
  • Medical Topography of New Orleans, with an Account of the Principal Diseases that affected the Fleet and Army of the late unsuccessful Expedition against that City (1818)
  • Conversations on anatomy, physiology, and surgery (1827);[8] then 1832.[9]
  • A Lecture on Civilisation (1839)

He also contributed to John Forbes's Cyclopædia of Practical Medicine, 1833–5, 4 vols.

References[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ "Authors: Robertson, Archibald, 1789-1864 / Subjects: Physiological Phenomena - Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine Search Results". collections.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  2. ^ "A drawing of the British Royal Navy in New York Harbor by British Captain Archibald Robertson. He said i… | Map of new york, New york harbor, Grand central terminal". Pinterest. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Robertson, Archibald (1789-1864)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  4. ^ Green, John (1909). "American Prisoners in Mill Prison at Plymouth, in 1782: Captain John Green's Letter". The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine. 10 (2): 116–124. ISSN 0148-7825. JSTOR 27575232.
  5. ^ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  6. ^ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Rev. George Samuel Robertson". geni_family_tree.
  8. ^ Robertson, Archibald. "Conversations on anatomy, physiology, and surgery". Oxford Libraries Online. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  9. ^ Robertson, Archibald (1832). Conversations on Anatomy, Physiology and Surgery (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart. p. 456.
Bibliography

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Boase, George Clement (1896). "Robertson, Archibald (1789-1864)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 48. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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