William Robertson (statistician)
William Robertson (8 January 1818 – 25 August 1882) was a Scottish physician, statistician, and amateur photographer. He was born at 28 Albany Street in Edinburgh’s New Town, the son of Eliza Brown and George Robertson, Keeper of Records at Register House. He studied at Edinburgh Academy and the University of Edinburgh, earning MBChB around 1837 and an MD in 1839, with further study in Paris, Vienna and Berlin.
He worked as a physician at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the New Town Dispensary, and served as medical officer to the Scottish Widows Fund. He joined the Harveian Society in 1847 and, in 1854, volunteered for the Crimean War, serving at Renkioi Hospital where he photographed staff. In 1860 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1871 he became Superintendent of Statistics at the General Register Office, focusing on medical statistics and contagious diseases; he retired in 1878 due to ill health. He supported the Vaccination Acts of 1871 and 1873.
Robertson lived his entire life at 28 Albany Street and died there of heart disease on 25 August 1882, aged 64. He is buried in Warriston Cemetery. He never married and left £7,400; his sister Eliza continued to live at Albany Street after him.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:17 (CET).