Robert Hugh Stannus Robertson (1911–1999) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist and mineralogist. He was a world authority on clay minerals.

Life

He was born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

east of

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 ...

on 17 June 1911 the son of Sir Robert Robertson. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

. He then studied Chemistry at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

graduating MA around 1930. On graduating he spent some time mapping Dicksonland in

Spitzbergen Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast o ...

where the glacier Robertsonbreen is named after him. In 1933 he became the Chief Chemist at Fullers Earth Union Ltd in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. In 1944 he moved to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and in 1958 moved to

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotland's 2011 census. (n.p. ...

where he lived for the rest of his life. His field work was varied and worldwide, including, field work in Iran (Kermanshah, Spain, Greece, and the US, and the United Kingdom. In 1969 he founded the Robertson Resource Use Institute in

. In 1970 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

Patrick Dunbar Ritchie Patrick Dunbar Ritchie FRSE FRSC FPRI LLD (1907–1981) was a 20th-century British chemist of Scots descent. Apart from being a noted chemist, he was an artist, fine art conservator, philatelist, ornithologist and mountaineer. His friends knew ...

, Maclagan Gorrie, Robert C. Mackenzie, John Boyd-Orr and

James Norman Davidson James Norman Davidson CBE PRSE FRS (5 March 1911 – 11 September 1972) was a British biochemist, pioneer molecular biologist and textbook author. The Davidson Building at the University of Glasgow is named for him. Life He was the only child o ...

. He died in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on 7 July 1999 aged 88. His papers are held by Archive Services at the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

Publications

*''The Texture of An English Fullers Earth'' (1982) *''Fullers Earth: A History'' (Volturna Press, 1986)

Family

In 1962 (aged 51) he married Anne-Lise, a Swiss woman. They had three children: Alison, Malcolm and Duncan.

References

1911 births 1999 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of the University of Cambridge British chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows_of_the_Geological_Society_of_London {{UK-chemist-stub