| Administrative History | Robert Hamilton was born in 1743 in Edinburgh, the son of Gavin Hamilton, bookseller, and grandson of Principal William Hamilton, Edinburgh University. He was appointed rector of Perth Academy in 1769, though he had previously been employed in a bank and a paper-mill. He gained an LL.D. from Edinburgh in 1775 and was appointed as regent and to the chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1779. He exchanged duties with Patrick Copland (regent from 1775 - 1779) in 1780 but the chairs were not formally exchanged until 1817 when Hamilton became professor of Mathematics. He was librarian for a total of twelve years between 1784 and 1823, and his publications reflect the variety of his own career. He died in 1829. |