Gordon Donaldson (13 April 1913 – 16 March 1993) was a Scottish historian.

Life

He was born in a tenement at 140 McDonald RoadEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1912 off Leith Walk in northern

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 ...

on 13 April 1913 the son of Rachel Swan and Magnus Donaldson. He was of

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

descent. Donaldson attended Broughton Elementary School (adjacent to his home) and then the Royal High School of Edinburgh (1921–31), before being awarded a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to study at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He also supplemented his income by undertaking some

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

ing. After graduating in 1935 with a first-class Honours Degree in History ( MA), he gained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1938 at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he also won the David Berry Prize from the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

. Donaldson also has a DLitt degree. After working as an archivist at the General Register Office for Scotland 1938–1947, he was appointed to a lectureship in Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh, largely through the offices of William Croft Dickinson. This marked the beginning of Donaldson's 32-year academic career at the University. He served as a Reader from 1955, before succeeding Dickinson as Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography in 1963, which he held until his retirement in 1979. During his academic career, Professor Donaldson wrote or co-wrote over thirty books, and numerous articles and addresses. He also served at various times as President of the Scottish Ecclesiological Society, the Scottish Church History Society, the Scottish History Society, the Scottish Record Society, the Scottish Records Association, and the Stair Society. In 1978 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

. His proposers were Norman Gash, Geoffrey Barrow, Sir Fraser Noble, and John Cameron, Lord Cameron. He was also an Honorary Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society, and in 1992 he received the St Olav's Medal from the King of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. When Professor Donaldson retired, he was appointed Historiographer Royal in Scotland. He could talk about any character in Scottish history as if he knew them personally. It was his love of the sea and ships, born from his childhood in Shetland, that took him to Dysart in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

in his retirement, where he lived in a 17th-century Pan Ha' apartment. "I cannot pass my old age without the sight of the sea and ships," he said. He died in Windygates in

on 16 March 1993. He never married and left no family.

Bibliography

* (with James Kirk) Scotland's history : approaches and reflections, 1995 * A Northern Commonwealth: Scotland and Norway, 1990 * The faith of the Scots, 1990 * (with David John Breeze) A queen's progress : an introduction to the buildings associated with Mary Queen of Scots in the care of the Secretary of State for Scotland, 1987 * Scottish church history, 1985 * All the Queen's men : power and politics in Mary Stewart's Scotland, 1983 * Four centuries : Edinburgh University life, 1583–1983, 1983 * (with Ann Morton) British National Archives and the local historian : a guide to official record publications, 1980 * (with Robert Morpeth) A dictionary of Scottish history, 1977 * Scotland : the shaping of a nation, 1974 * Mary, Queen of Scots, 1974 * (with Robert Morpeth) Who's who in Scottish history, 1973 * Scottish historical documents, 1970 * The first trial of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1969 * The memoirs of Sir James Melville of Halhill...., 1969 * Scottish Kings, 1967 * The Scots overseas, 1966 * General Editor, The Edinburgh History of Scotland, 1965 ** Vol I, ''Scotland: The making of the Kingdom'', A.A.M. Duncan ** Vol II, ''Scotland: The Later Middle Ages'', R. Nicholson ** Vol III, ''Scotland: James V to James VII'', G. Donaldson ** Vol IV, ''Scotland: 1689 to the Present'', W Ferguson * Scotland: James V to James VII, 1965 * Scotland: church and nation through sixteen centuries, 1960 * The Scottish Reformation, 1960 * Shetland Life under Earl Patrick, 1958 * Common errors in Scottish history, 1956 * * The Court Book of Shetland 1602–1604, 1954 * Accounts of the collectors of thirds of benefices, 1561–1572, 1949 * (with John Lauder, C Macrae) St. Andrews formulare, 1514–1546, 1944

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Gordon 1913 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Scottish historians People from Leith Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Scottish archivists