Robert Robertson (physician)


Robert Robertson was a British surgeon and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Robertson was born in Scotland and educated as a surgeon, in which capacity he started working as a naval doctor, first on whaling ships and then in the Royal Navy. During his numerous expeditions, he recorded observations on fevers, scurvy and numerous other illnesses. After 23 years of service, he retired to private practice in Hampshire. He was created doctor of medicine by the University of Aberdeen on 12 February 1779 and was admitted a Licentiate of the College of Physicians on 25 June 1779. Around that time he was appointed physician and later director to the Greenwich Hospital, where he was one of the early practitioners in the care of the elderly. He retired in 1807 and died at Greenwich. He was a fellow of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies, and the author of the following works: