John Robison (inventor)
Sir John Robison KH FRSE FRSSA (11 June 1778, Edinburgh - 1843) was a Scottish inventor and writer on scientific subjects. He was the son of Professor John Robison.
Life
He was born in Edinburgh on 11 June 1778, the son of John Robison and Rachel Wright.[1]
Robison was educated at the Royal High School and the University of Edinburgh.
Around 1795 he entered the cotton-spinning industry, first in Paisley and then moving south to Manchester.
In 1802 he entered the service of Nizam of Hyderabad as contractor for the establishment and maintenance of military service. He left India a wealthy man, in 1815.
In 1816 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and served as its General Secretary from 1828 to 1840. His proposers were John Playfair, David Brewster and James Jardine.
He was one of the founders of Scottish Society of Arts (1821), its secretary (1822-4), and its president (1841-2).[2]
In the 1830s he is listed as living at 9 Atholl Crescent, a large townhouse in Edinburgh's fashionable west end.[3]
From 1834 he was the Edinburgh Commissioner of Police.
He received the Guelphic Order in 1837 from William IV and knighted in 1838.
He died in Edinburgh on 7 March 1843. A memorial exists to Sir Robison on the south wall of St Johns Episcopal Church in Edinburgh a few hundred metres east of his house.
Family
He married twice, firstly in 1816 to Jean Grahame who died in 1824 and secondly to Miss Benson who died in 1837.[4]
References
- ↑ http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf
- ↑ http://www.rssa.org.uk/history/past-presidents.shtml
- ↑ http://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/pageturner.cfm?id=83401539&mode=transcription
- ↑ http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Robison, John". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.