Robert Hamilton

FRSE 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". ...

(19 April 1763 – 13 December 1831) was a Scottish advocate and close friend of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. Enjoying boat trips and other excursions together, Scott termed him Our Lord High Admiral Hamilton in his diaries. He is noted as a

gourmand A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure and interest in consuming particularly good food and drink. ''Gourmand'' originally referred to a person who was "a glutton for food and drink", a person who eats and drinks excessively. Etymolo ...

and suffered repeatedly from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Robert Hamilton

Life

Hamilton was born on 19 April 1763 one of 11 children to Alexander Hamilton of Gilkerscleugh near

Crawfordjohn Crawfordjohn is a small village and civil parish of 117 residents located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.The Imperial gazetteer of Scotland. 1854. VOL.I (AAN-GORDON) by Rev. John Marius Wilson. p.315 https://archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, and his wife Margaret (nee MacQueen). He trained in law 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 ...

under John Millar, qualifying as an advocate in 1788. In 1796 he purchased (sic) from

Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank The Hon Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank FRSE FSA (Scot) (1748–1816) was a Scottish advocate, academic jurist, judge and agriculturalist. Life The only son of Alexander Maconochie of Meadowbank, Kirknewton, Midlothian, and his wife Isabell ...

the chair of Professor of Public Law at the University. He never lectured, as was standard in this role at that time, which was largely titular, but held it until death, receiving £200 per annum for the title. From 1797 to 1822 he served as Sheriff of Lanark. From 1822 he served as Principal Clerk of Session in the High Court. In 1795 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

, William Wright, and Alexander Keith of Ravelston. In 1799 he successfully pursued William Hamilton of Wishart’s claim to the title of Lord Belhaven. He lived at 7 Hope Street, just off

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

in Edinburgh.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1830–31 He died on 13 December 1831 and is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

in Edinburgh. On his death his professorship was not refilled. The post was not recreated until 1867 when Professor James Lorimer took on the role.

Family

In 1804 he married Janet Hamilton Anderson (died 1871), whose stepmother had been

’s childhood sweetheart. They had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Robert 1763 births 1831 deaths People associated with Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard