Rev. Archibald "Archie" Eneas Robertson (1870–1958), was a Church of Scotland minister. He is generally regarded as being the first mountaineer to climb all 282

Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...

s, the peaks of Scotland over in height, first listed by Sir Hugh Munro.

Life

He was born in

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

on 3 July 1870, the son of a prosperous merchant then educated at

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational private 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 private school in ...

. He then studied divinity at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

, graduating MA in 1892 and BD in 1896. From 1897 to 1906 he assisted in churches in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

. In 1907 Robertson became minister of Braes of Rannoch (near the Bridge of Gaur, on the

River Gaur The River Gaur () is a river in Perthshire which enters Loch Rannoch Loch Rannoch () is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over long in a west–east direction with an average width of about , and is deepest at its eas ...

) where he made an effort to learn Scottish Gaelic, to deliver his sermons in Gaelic and try to keep the language alive. The Reverend was known for his woodwork skills and crafted the altar at the Kirk and the door frames and bannisters at the manse (now a private residence called Craigriach). In 1918 he moved to

as chaplain of

Astley Ainslie Hospital The Astley Ainslie Hospital is a community hospital in The Grange, Edinburgh, The Grange, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is operated by NHS Lothian. History David Ainslie, who died in 1900, left £800,000 for the purpose of building and endowing a hos ...

. In 1946 he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were

John (Ian) Bartholomew John Bartholomew, generally known as Ian Bartholomew (12 February 1890 – 9 February 1962) was a Scottish cartographer and geographer. Life John was the son of John George Bartholomew and Janet Macdonald. He was educated at Merchiston Castl ...

Murray Macgregor George Murray Macgregor FRSE (21 January 1884 – 21 January 1966) was a Scottish geologist. He was described as "Scotland's most eminent coalfield geologist." Life Macgregor was born in Glasgow to Agnes Murray and George Macgregor. He studied a ...

James Ernest Richey James Ernest Richey (24 April 1886 – 19 June 1968) was an Irish-born geologist. Life He was born on 24 April 1886 in Desertcreat in County Tyrone in Ireland, the son of Rev John Richey, rector of the local church. His later education was at ...

Thomas Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross Thomas Mackay Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross (24 September 1892 – 15 July 1956) was a Scotland, Scottish Unionist Party (Scotland), Unionist Party politician, a judge and a historian, who had been appointed Lord Advocate of Scotland. Ba ...

Douglas Guthrie Douglas James Guthrie (8 September 1885 – 8 June 1975) was a Scottish medical doctor, otolaryngologist and historian of medicine. After graduating in Medicine from Edinburgh University, he pursued postgraduate studies into diseases of ear, ...

and

James Ritchie James Ritchie may refer to: * James Ritchie (rugby union) (1907–1942), Scottish international rugby union player * James Ritchie (naturalist) (1882–1958), President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh * James Ritchie (Massachusetts politician) (1 ...

. He was president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club 1930–32. In 1946 he became the first president of the Scottish Rights of Way Society. He died at home in Edinburgh on 22 June 1958.

Climbing reputation

He climbed his first Munro in 1889. He joined the Scottish Mountaineering Club in 1893. Doubts have been expressed about whether he climbed

Ben Wyvis Ben Wyvis () is a mountain in Easter Ross, in the northern Highlands of Scotland. It lies north-west of Dingwall, in the council area of Highland, and the county of Ross and Cromarty. Ben Wyvis is a large winding and undulating ridge r ...

, and he did not climb the Inaccessible Pinnacle. He admitted turning back on Ben Wyvis because of adverse weather, and it is not known whether he climbed it again. The Inaccessible Pinnacle was not classified as a Munro in 1901, only its parent peak

Sgùrr Dearg is a mountain in the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is topped by the Inaccessible Pinnacle (or An Stac in Gaelic), a fin of rock measuring along its longest edge. The top of the Pinnacle stands at above sea level, making Sgùrr De ...

, which is slightly lower.''"The spirit of Sir Hugh Munro walks with us still"''
''The Scotsman'', 11 November 2006, retrieved 15 April 2011. Robertson's final Munro was Meall Dearg on

Aonach Eagach The is a large mountain ridge in the Scottish Highlands, marking the northern edge of Glen Coe. It stretches east–west for several miles and includes two Munro summits: Sgùrr nam Fiannaidh at 967 m (3,175 ft) high, and Meall Dearg ...

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( ) is a glen of glacial origins, that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the shires of Scotland, county of Argyll, close to the border with the history of local governm ...

. On reaching the summit, he famously kissed the cairn and then his wife. Townsend, Chris. ''Scotland''. Cicerone Press, 2011, p.175. They then consumed a quart of Ayala champagne.

Family

He married twice: first to Katherine Clayson McFarlane, then, following her death in 1935, he married Winifred Dorothy Hutchison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, A. E. 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Scottish mountain climbers 1870 births 1958 deaths People from Helensburgh Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society