John Brownlee Robertson (September 14, 1809 – July 14, 1892) was an American politician. Robertson was born in Charleston, S. C., on September 14, 1809. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1829. After graduation, he began the study of medicine with his brother-in-law, Dr. S. H. Dickson, and received the degree of

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

from the Charleston Medical College in 1832. He had already married in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, in 1830, Mary W., daughter of Abel Denison, and he settled here in business but did not practice his profession. His wife died on February 1, 1835, and in 1838 he married Mabel Maria Heaton, daughter of Abiam Heaton, of New Haven. In 1837-8 he was a member of the Common Council, and in 1840 he was sent to the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

, but declined a re-nomination in 1842. In 1846 he was a member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

, and for the two succeeding years he was

Secretary of State of Connecticut The secretary of the State of Connecticut is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Connecticut. (The definite article is part of the legal job title.) It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of four ...

. He was then made postmaster of New Haven and served until 1853. Until about this date he was engaged in the business of carpet-manufacture. He was also, until his retirement in 1870, secretary of the American Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1867-8 he served as

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

of the city, and in 1881 and 1882 as Mayor of New Haven. At the time of his death, as for many years previous, he was junior warden of Trinity Church. He died of old age at his residence in New Haven on July 14, 1892, in his 83d year. His wife survived him with five of their six children—three daughters and two sons—the elder son being a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1872. Two children by his former marriage died before him.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:ROBERTSON, JOHN BROWNLEE 1809 births 1892 deaths Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Yale College alumni Medical University of South Carolina alumni Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Connecticut state senators Secretaries of the State of Connecticut Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut 19th-century American politicians