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Robert Chambers (; 10 July 1802 – 17 March 1871) was a Scottish publisher, geologist,
evolutionary Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variati ...
thinker, author and journal editor who, like his elder brother and business partner William Chambers, was highly influential in mid-19th-century scientific and political circles. Chambers was an early phrenologist in the Edinburgh Phrenological Society. He was also the anonymous author of '' Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'', which was so controversial that his authorship was not acknowledged until after his death.


Early life

Chambers was born in Peebles in the Scottish Borders 10 July 1802 to Jean Gibson (''c''. 1781–1843) and James Chambers, a cotton manufacturer. He was their second son of six children. The town had changed little in centuries. The town had old and new parts, each consisting of little more than a single street. Peebles was mainly inhabited by weavers and labourers living in thatched cottages. His father, James Chambers, made his living as a cotton manufacturer. Their slate-roofed house was built by James Chambers' father as a wedding gift for his son, and the ground floor served as the family workshop. A small circulating library in the town, run by Alexander Elder, introduced Robert to books and developed his literary interests when he was young. Occasionally his father would buy books for the family library, and one day Robert found a complete set of the fourth edition of the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' hidden away in a chest in the attic. He eagerly read this for many years. Near the end of his life, Chambers remembered feeling "a profound thankfulness that such a convenient collection of human knowledge existed, and that here it was spread out like a well-plenished table before me." Robert's older brother, William, later recalled that for Robert, "the acquisition of knowledge was with him the highest of earthly enjoyments." Robert was sent to local schools and showed unusual literary taste and ability, though he found his schooling to be uninspiring. His education was typical for the day. The country school, directed by James Gray, taught the boys reading, writing, and, for an additional charge, arithmetic. In grammar school it was the classics— Latin and Ancient Greek, with some English composition. Boys bullied one another and the teacher administered corporal punishment in the classroom for unruly behaviour. Although uninspired by the school, Robert made up for this at the bookseller. Both Robert and William were born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Their parents attempted to correct this abnormality through operations, and while William's was successful Robert was left partially lame. So while other boys roughed it outside, Robert was content to stay indoors and study his books. Robert surpassed his elder brother in his education, which he continued for several years beyond William's. Robert had been destined for the ministry, but at the age of fifteen he dropped this intended career. The arrival of the power loom suddenly threatened James Chambers' cotton business, forcing him to close it down and become a draper. During this time, James began to socialise with a number of French prisoners of war on parole who were stationed in Peebles. Unfortunately, James Chambers lent these exiles a large amount of credit, and when they were abruptly transferred away he was forced to declare bankruptcy. The family moved to Edinburgh in 1813. Robert continued his education at the High School, and William became a bookseller's apprentice. In 1818 Robert, at sixteen years old, began his own business as a bookstall-keeper on Leith Walk. At first, his entire stock consisted of some old books belonging to his father, amounting to thirteen feet of shelf space and worth no more than a few pounds. By the end of the first year the value of his stock went up to twelve pounds, and modest success came gradually.


Early works

While Robert built up a business, his brother William expanded his own by purchasing a home-made printing press and publishing pamphlets as well as creating his own type. Soon afterwards, Robert and William decided to join forces—with Robert writing and William printing. Their first joint venture was a magazine series called ''The Kaleidoscope, or Edinburgh Literary Amusement'', sold for threepence. This was issued every two weeks between 6 October 1821 and 12 January 1822. It was followed by ''Illustrations of the Author of Waverley'' (1822), which offered sketches of individuals believed to have been the inspirations for some of the characters in Walter Scott's works of fiction. The last book to be printed on William's old press was ''Traditions of Edinburgh'' (1824), derived from Robert's enthusiastic interest in the history and antiquities of Edinburgh. He followed this with ''Walks in Edinburgh'' (1825), ''Popular Rhymes of Scotland'' (1826) and ''Picture of Scotland'' (1826). This was followed by five volumes of Scottish history to form part of ''Constable's Miscellany''. In 1832 he compiled ''Gazetteer of Scotland''. These books gained him the approval and personal friendship of Walter Scott. After Scott's death, Robert paid tribute to him by writing a ''Life of Sir Walter Scott'' (1832). Robert also wrote a ''History of the Rebellions in Scotland from 1638 to 1745'' (5 vols, 1828) and numerous other works on Scotland and Scottish traditions.


Marriage

On 7 December 1829 Robert married Anne Kirkwood, the only child of Jane and John Kirkwood. Together they had 14 children, three of whom died in infancy. Excluding these three, their children were Robert ( Robert Chambers Jr.), Nina (Mrs. Frederick Lehmann, and mother of Rudolf Chambers Lehmann), Mary (Mrs. Alexander Mackenzie Edwards, mother of satirist
Bob Edwards Robert Alan "Bob" Edwards is an American broadcast journalist, a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He hosted both of National Public Radio's flagship news programs, the afternoon ''All Things Considered'', and '' ...
), Anne (Mrs. Dowie, mother of Ménie Muriel Dowie), Janet, Eliza (Mrs. William Overend Priestley), Amelia (Mrs. Rudolf Lehmann), James, William, Phoebe (Mrs. Zeigler), and Alice.


W. & R. Chambers

At the beginning of 1832 Robert's brother William Chambers started a weekly publication entitled ''
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal ''Chambers's Edinburgh Journal'' was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny. Topics included history, religion, language, and science. William was soo ...
'', which speedily gained a large circulation. Robert was at first only a contributor, but after 14 volumes had appeared, he became joint editor with his brother, and his collaboration contributed more perhaps than anything else to the success of the ''Journal''. The two brothers eventually united as partners in the
book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
firm of W. & R. Chambers Publishers. At the same time Robert ran a bookshop and circulating library from 48 Hanover Street with his younger brother, James Chambers. Meanwhile, William ran his shop from 47 Broughton Street. Robert at this time was living close to the shop, at 27 Elder Street (demolished in the 1960s to improve access to Edinburgh Bus Station). Among the other numerous works of which Robert was in whole or in part the author, the ''Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen'' (4 vols., Glasgow, 1832–1835), the ''Cyclopædia of English Literature'' (1844), the ''Life and Works of
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who ha ...
'' (4 vols., 1851), ''Ancient Sea Margins'' (1848), the ''Domestic Annals of Scotland'' (1859–1861) and the '' Book of Days'' (2 vols., 1862–1864) were the most important. ''
Chambers's Encyclopaedia ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William and Robert Chambers of Edinburgh and became one of the most ...
'' (1859–1868), with Dr Andrew Findlater as editor, was carried out under the superintendence of the brothers. The ''Cyclopædia of English Literature'' contains a series of admirably selected extracts from the best authors of every period, "set in a biographical and critical history of the literature itself." For the ''Life of Burns'' he made diligent and laborious original investigations, gathering many hitherto unrecorded facts from the poet's sister, Mrs Begg, to whose benefit the whole profits of the work were generously devoted.


''Vestiges''

During the 1830s, Robert Chambers took a particularly keen interest in the then rapidly expanding field of geology, and he was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1844. Prior to this, he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1840, which connected him through correspondence to numerous scientific men. William later recalls that "His mind had become occupied with speculative theories which brought him into communication with Sir
Charles Bell Sir Charles Bell (12 November 177428 April 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, physiologist, neurologist, artist, and philosophical theologian. He is noted for discovering the difference between sensory nerves and motor nerves in the sp ...
,
George Combe George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a trained Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote a noted study, ''The Constitution ...
, his brother Dr.
Andrew Combe Andrew Combe (27 October 17979 August 1847) was a Scottish physician and phrenologist. Life Combe was born in Edinburgh on 27 October 1797, the son of Marion (née Newton) and George Combe (1745-1816), a brewer, and was a younger brother of ...
, Dr. Neil Arnott, Professor Edward Forbes, Dr. Samuel Brown, and other thinkers on physiology and mental philosophy." In 1848 Chambers published his first geological book on ''Ancient Sea Margins.'' Later, he toured Scandinavia and Canada for the purpose of geological exploration. The results of his travels were published in ''Tracings of the North of Europe'' (1851) and ''Tracings in Iceland and the Faroe Islands'' (1856). However, his most popular book, influenced by his geological studies and interest in speculative theories, was a work to which he never openly attached his name. In 1844, Chambers completed the dictation of his '' Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' to his wife, Anne Kirkwood, as he recuperated from depression at his holiday home in St Andrews. The composition of ''Vestiges'' may have served a therapeutic purpose. Chambers had been an enthusiastic phrenologist in Edinburgh in the 1830s, and the anonymously authored ''Vestiges'' became an international bestseller and a powerful public influence, subsequent to Combe's ''Constitution of Man'' (1828), and anticipating the publication of Charles Darwin's '' Origin of Species'' in 1859. In a strange parallel to Robert and Anne Chambers, Prince Albert read the ''Vestiges'' aloud to Queen Victoria over several days in 1845. The first edition of ''Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' was released in 1844 and published anonymously. Literary anonymity was not uncommon at the time, especially in periodical journalism. However, in the science genre, anonymity was especially rare, due to the fact that science writers typically wanted to take credit for their work to claim priority for their findings. The reason for Chambers' anonymity was clear enough as soon as one began reading the text. The book was arguing for a developmental view of the cosmos combining
stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is cons ...
with progressive transmutation of species in the same spirit as the late Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarck had been discredited among intellectuals by this time, and evolutionary (or development) theories were exceedingly unpopular, except among political radicals, and materialists. Chambers, however, tried to explicitly distance his own theory from that of Lamarck's by denying Lamarck's evolutionary mechanism any plausibility. "Now it is possible that wants and the exercise of faculties have entered in some manner into the production of the phenomena which we have been considering; but certainly not in the way suggested by Lamarck, whose whole notion is obviously so inadequate to account for the rise of the organic kingdoms, that we only can place it with pity among the follies of the wise." Additionally, his work was far more sweeping in scope than any of his predecessors. "The book, as far as I am aware," he writes in his concluding chapter, "is the first attempt to connect the natural sciences in a history of creation." Robert Chambers was certainly aware of the storm that would probably be raised at the time by his treatment of the subject, and most importantly he did not wish to get his and his brother's publishing firm involved in any kind of scandal that could potentially ruin or severely impact their business venture. The arrangements for publication, therefore, were made through a friend named Alexander Ireland, of Manchester. To further prevent the possibility of any unwanted revelations, Chambers only disclosed the secret to four people: his wife, his brother William, Ireland, and
George Combe George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a trained Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote a noted study, ''The Constitution ...
's nephew, Robert Cox. All correspondence to and from Chambers passed through Ireland's hands first, and all letters and manuscripts were dutifully transcribed in Mrs. Chamber's hand to prevent the possibility of anyone recognizing Robert's handwriting. By implying that God might not actively sustain the natural and social hierarchies, the book threatened the social order and could provide ammunition to Chartists and revolutionaries.
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
clergymen and naturalists attacked the book, with the geologist
Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did on W ...
predicting "ruin and confusion in such a creed" which, if taken up by the working classes, "will undermine the whole moral and social fabric" bringing "discord and deadly mischief in its train". The book was liked by many Quakers and Unitarians. The Unitarian physiologist William Benjamin Carpenter called it "a very beautiful and a very interesting book", and helped Chambers with correcting later editions. Critics thanked God that the author began "in ignorance and presumption", for the revised versions "would have been much more dangerous". Nevertheless, the book caused a sensation and quickly went through a number of new editions. ''Vestiges'' brought widespread discussion of evolution out of the streets and gutter presses and into the drawing rooms of respectable men and women.


Other activities

Chambers gave a talk on ancient beaches at the
British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
meeting at Oxford in May 1847. An observer named Andrew Crombie Ramsay at the meeting reported that Chambers "pushed his conclusions to a most unwarrantable length and got roughly handled on account of it by Buckland, De la Beche, Sedgwick, Murchison, and Lyell. The last told me afterwards that he did so purposely that hambersmight see that reasonings in the style of the author of the Vestiges would not be tolerated among scientific men." On the Sunday Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, used his sermon at St. Mary's Church on "the wrong way of doing science" to deliver a stinging attack obviously aimed at Chambers. The church, "crowded to suffocation" with geologists, astronomers and zoologists, heard jibes about the "half-learned" seduced by the "foul temptation" of speculation looking for a self-sustaining universe in a "mocking spirit of unbelief", showing a failure to understand the "modes of the Creator's acting" or to meet the responsibilities of a gentleman. Chambers denounced this as an attempt to stifle progressive opinion, but others thought he must have gone home "with the feeling of a martyr". Near the close of autumn 1848, Chambers allowed himself to be brought forward as a candidate for the administrative position of Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The timing was especially poor, with others seeking any means possible to try and discredit his character. His adversaries found the perfect opportunity to do so in the swirling allegations that he was the author of the much reviled ''Vestiges''. William Chambers, in his ''Memoir of Robert Chambers'', still sworn to secrecy despite his brother's recent passing, makes his only mention of ''Vestiges'' in connection with this affair: "(Robert) might have been well assured that a rumor to the effect that he was the author of 'Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation' would be used to his disadvantage, and that anything he might say on the subject would be unavailing." Robert withdrew his candidacy in disgust. In 1851 Chambers was one of a group of writers who joined the publisher John Chapman in reinvigorating the ''
Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unti ...
'' as a flagship of free thought and reform, spreading the ideas of evolutionism. Robert Chambers was a golfer and was elected an honorary member of the Musselburgh Golf Club (now
Royal Musselburgh Golf Club The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club is a golf club at Prestongrange House, Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, on the B1361. Between 1774 and 1926, the club was based at Levenhall Links, Musselburgh. History The first golf c ...
) on 14 September 1833. His son, who followed him into the publishing business, was a renowned player and became Champion Golfer in 1858 as a member of Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society.


''Book of Days''

The ''Book of Days'' was Chambers's last major publication, and perhaps his most elaborate. It was a miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar, and it is supposed that his excessive labour in connexion with this book hastened his death. Two years before, the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
had conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, and he was elected a member of the Athenaeum Club in London.


Death

Robert Chambers died on 17 March 1871 in St Andrews. He was buried in the Cathedral burial ground in the interior of the old Church of St. Regulus, according to his wishes. The grave lies against the southern wall of the structure attaching the roofless section, east of the tower. A memorial window was also erected to Robert by his brother William in
St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...
next to a larger window to William himself, placed at the time of his restoration of the cathedral. The pair of windows lie in the northern transept. A year after Robert's death, his brother William published a biography under the title ''Memoir of Robert Chambers; With Autobiographical Reminiscences of William Chambers''. However, the book did not reveal Robert's authorship of the ''Vestiges''. Milton Millhauser, in his 1959 book ''Just Before Darwin'', wrote the following about William's memoir: "The fraternal ''Memoir of Robert Chambers'' might have been an excellent biography had not the author been concerned to keep the ''Vestiges'' secret and one or two others. Despite the author's intelligence and sympathy, such omissions inevitably produced a distorted picture" (p. 191, note 7). The book contains some reminiscences by Robert of his early life, with the rest of the narration filled in by William. Alexander Ireland, in 1884, issued a 12th edition of ''Vestiges'' with Robert Chambers finally listed as the author and a preface giving an account of its authorship. Ireland felt that there was no longer any reason for concealing the author's name.


Works


Principal writings

*''The Kaleidoscope, or Edinburgh Literary Amusement''. October 1821 – January 1822. *''Illustrations of the Author of Waverley''. 1822. * *''Notices of the Most Remarkable Fires with have Occurred in Edinburgh''. 1825. *''Walks in Edinburgh''. 1825. *''Popular Rhymes of Scotland''. 1826. *''Picture of Scotland''. 1827. *''History of the Rebellion of 1745''. 1828. *''Scottish Ballads''. 1829. *''Scottish Songs''. 1829. *''The Picture of Stirling''. 1830. *''Life of King James I''. 1830. *''Gazetteer of Scotland'' (with William Chambers). 1832. *''Scottish Jests and Anecdotes''. 1832. *''Life of Sir Walter Scott''. 1832. *''History of Scotland''. 1832. *''Reekiana, or Minor Antiquities of Edinburgh''. 1833. *''Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen''. 1833–1835. *''Life and Works of Burns'' (based on Currie's edition). 1834. *''Jacobite Memoirs of the Rebellion''. 1834. *''History of the English Language and Literature''. 1835. *''Poems''. 1835. *''The Land of Burns'' (with Professor John Wilson). 1840. *''Cyclopaedia of English Literature'' (with
Robert Carruthers Robert Carruthers (1799–1878) was a Scottish journalist and miscellaneous writer. He was born in Dumfriesshire and was for a time a teacher in Huntingdon. He wrote a ''History of Huntingdon'' in 1824. In 1828 he became editor of the ''Inverne ...
). 1840. *''History of the Rebellion of 1745''. 1840. *'' Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' (published anonymously). 1844. *''Twelve Romantic Scottish Ballads''. 1844. *''Explanations: A Sequal'' (published anonymously). 1845. *''Select Writings of Robert Chambers'', in seven volumes. 1847. *''Ancient Sea Margins''. 1848. *''Tracings of the North of Europe''. 1851. *''Life and Works of Robert Burns''. 1851. *''Tracings of Iceland and the Faroe Islands''. 1856. *''Domestic Annals of Scotland''. 1859–1861. *''Sketch of the History of Edinburgh Theatre Royal''. 1859. *''Memoirs of a Banking House, by Sir William Forbes'' (ed. R. Chambers). 1859. *''Edinburgh Papers''. 1861. *''Songs of Scotland Prior to Burns''. 1862. *Preface to Daniel Dunglas Home: ''Incidents in My Life'', first series. 1863. *''The Book of Days''. 1864. *''Life of Smollett''. 1867. *''Traditions of Edinburgh''. 1868. *''The Threiplands of
Fingask Fingask Castle is a country house in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is perched above Rait, three miles (5 km) north-east of Errol, in the Braes of the Carse, on the fringes of the Sidlaw Hills. Thus it overlooks both the Carse of Gow ...
''. 1880.


Unpublished manuscripts

*Life and Preachings of Jesus Christ, from the Evangelists. *A Catechism for the Young. *Private Prayers and Meditations. *Antiquarian Papers. *Several papers on spiritualism.


Editor and contributor

*''Chambers's Edinburgh Journal''. 1832 ff. *''Chambers's Information for the People''. 1833–1835. *''Chambers's Educational Course''. 1835 ff.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * (Contains facsimiles of the 1st editions of ''Vestiges'' and ''Explanations'') *


Works by Chambers

* * * * * *


External links

* * *
Works by Robert Chambers
at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
(scanned books original editions illustrated) * Robert Chambers
(1835)
an

complete texts. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Robert 1802 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Scottish historians 19th-century Scottish writers British publishers (people) Charles Darwin Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Historians of Scotland People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh People from Peebles People with polydactyly Phrenologists Proto-evolutionary biologists Scottish biographers Scottish biologists Scottish book publishers (people) Scottish editors Scottish encyclopedists Scottish geologists Victorian writers 19th-century Scottish businesspeople