Portrait of Robert Adair Wellcome L0006134

Robert Adair (c. 1711 – 1790) was an Irish surgeon who became chief surgeon to the British Army and Master of the Surgeon's Company, and married into the British aristocracy.

Career

Trained in Dublin, he was accused in 1737 of adultery with Anglo-Irish poet

Laetitia Pilkington Laetitia Pilkington (born Laetitia van Lewen; ''c.'' 1709 – 29 July 1750) was an Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant ...

and left Ireland to travel to London. Adair became a member of the London Company of Barber Surgeons in 1738. His military career began when he joined the army in the role of staff surgeon in Flanders in March 1742, and a few months later in June 1742 he furthered his studies by enrolling at the medical school of

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

. By 1756, he was chief surgeon to the Hospital for the Forces in Britain. In 1761, he was appointed Inspector of Regimental Infirmaries in Britain (with the rank of Inspector-General), and by 1767 had been appointed Master of his professional body, the Surgeons' Company in London (which had broken away from the barbers in 1745). Further honours came in 1773 with his appointment as surgeon (

Serjeant Surgeon The Serjeant Surgeon is the senior surgeon in the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Monarch, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The origin of the post dates back to 1253. Early serjeant surgeons were military surgeons who followed the ...

) to King George III and to the Royal Chelsea Hospital. In 1786, four years before his death on 16 March 1790, he was made

Surgeon-General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

of Great Britain. Mentions of Adair in the society news and correspondence of the times include the journeys made by him and Sir Richard Jebb, 1st Baronet to Italy in 1771 and 1777 to attend to the younger brother of King George III, the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

. The travels of Adair in Italy in the 1770s are documented by art historian Sir

Brinsley Ford Sir Richard Brinsley Ford (10 June 1908 – 4 May 1999) was a British art historian, scholar, and collector. He inherited a large collection of art from his family and was himself an avid collector. A drawing that he purchased in 1936 was sold ...

, including a collection of bronzes, marbles and

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

paintings that were auctioned at Christies in May 1790. Adair was later among the first honorary members of the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

(1784).

Marriage and family

He married Lady Caroline Keppel on 22 February 1758. Her parents were

Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle Lieutenant-General Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (5 June 1702 – 22 December 1754) was a British Army officer, diplomat, courtier and colonial administrator. He held various roles in the household of George II of Great Britain, ...

and

Anne van Keppel, Countess of Albemarle Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in ...

(a grand-daughter through an illegitimate line of King Charles II). The children of Caroline and Robert included the future distinguished British diplomat Sir Robert Adair (1763–1855). Two daughters (Caroline and Amelia) died in infancy. Two other daughters were Diana (1760-1851) and Elizabeth (1769-1841), who married

George Barrington, 5th Viscount Barrington George Barrington, 5th Viscount Barrington (16 July 1761 – 4 March 1829), was a British minister and aristocrat. Early life Barrington was born on 16 July 1761. He was the third son of Maj. Gen. Hon. John Barrington, who died in Paris on 2 A ...

. A memorial to him and his family (primarily centred on his wife Caroline Keppel (1734–1769), who predeceased him due to

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

) was erected in

St Mary's Church, Acton, London St Mary's Church is a Church of England parish church in Acton, London, Acton in the London Borough of Ealing. The present church, in red brick with stone dressings in a decorated style, was designed by Horace Francis and constructed 1865–1867 ...

. Adair was buried alongside her on March 24, 1790. The song ' Robin Adair' was composed by Caroline in tribute to her husband after her aristocratic family's reaction to her proposed marriage. An oil-on-canvas portrait of Adair by

Lemuel Francis Abbott Lemuel "Francis" Abbott (1760/61 – 5 December 1803) was an English Portrait painting, portrait painter, famous for his painting of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (currently hanging in the Terracotta Room of number 10 Downing Street) and fo ...

(dating from the 1780s) is held at the

Hunterian Museum The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...

in London.The portrait was presented to the Hunterian Museum in 1969 by Patrick Barrington, 11th Viscount Barrington, one of the later descendants (a great-great-great-great-grandson) of Robert Adair through his daughter Elizabeth.

References

External links

Robert Adair (1711–1790)
(Art UK)
Lady Caroline Keppel’s sad love song immortalised young Robin Adair
(Look and Learn archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, Robert 1710s births 1790 deaths Irish surgeons Irish military doctors Leiden University alumni 18th-century Irish medical doctors 18th-century Irish military personnel Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England