Charles Alexander Lockhart Robertson (4 April 1825 – 18 May 1897), best known as C. Lockhart Robertson, was a Scottish asylum doctor and

spiritualist Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at least ...

. He was born 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 ...

, the son of

John Argyll Robertson Dr John Argyll Robertson FRSE Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, PRCSE (12 August 1800 – 7 January 1855) was a Scottish surgeon who specialised in ophthalmic surgery and became President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 18 ...

, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. His younger brother,

Douglas Argyll Robertson Douglas Moray Cooper Lamb Argyll Robertson FRSE, FRCSEd LLD (1837 – 3 January 1909) was a Scottish ophthalmologist and surgeon. He introduced physostigmine into ophthalmic practice and the Argyll Robertson pupil is named after him. He was pr ...

, became a distinguished ophthalmic surgeon. He studied Medicine at Caius College, Cambridge where he earned his

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

in 1856. Lockhart Robertson worked as the superintendent of Sussex County Asylum at Haywards Heath from 1859 to 1870, and in 1860 he also served as Linacre demonstrator of Anatomy at Oxford University. In 1870, he was appointed Lord Chancellor's medical visitor and he held this position till 1896. He was the honorary secretary of the Medico-Psychological Association and edited the '' Journal of Mental Science''. Lockhart Robertson's translation of

Griesinger Griesinger is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Georg August Griesinger (1769–1845), German diplomat and writer * Jakob Griesinger (c. 1407 – 1491), German Dominican *Wilhelm Griesinger (1817–1868), German neurologi ...

's ''Mental Pathology'' (undertaken in conjunction with James Rutherford) was a valuable addition to the professional literature. Robertson did not publish widely but his achievements with enlightened asylum administration attracted professional admiration across Europe. Lockhart Robertson, originally a skeptic in the 1850s, became a convinced spiritualist in 1860 after attending a séance with the medium

Daniel Dunglas Home Daniel Dunglas Home (pronounced ''Hume''; 20 March 183321 June 1886) was a Scottish physical medium with the reported ability to levitate to a variety of heights, speak with the dead, and to produce rapping and knocks in houses at will. His bi ...

. He was a founding member of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

. He died at Exmouth. In 1884, aged 59, he married a minor, 19 year-old Mabel Wilton Rochfort, of Exmouth, daughter of Colonel Gustavus Cowper Rochfort, (dec'd 1884) late of the 41st Madras Native Infantry. They had two sons born in 1885 and 1890. Marriages 1884 March qtr Westminster Vol 1a, Page 715 Charles Alexander Lockhart Robertson, Mabel Wilton Rochfort

Publications

''A Descriptive Notice of the Sussex Lunatic Asylum, Haywards Heath''
(1859)
''A Case of Homicidal Mania, Without Disorder of the Intellect''
(1860)
''The Care and Treatment of the Insane Poor''
(1867)

References

1825 births 1897 deaths British parapsychologists History of mental health in the United Kingdom Medical doctors from Edinburgh Scottish psychiatrists Scottish spiritualists Heads of psychiatric hospitals {{Scotland-bio-stub