William Robertson

Robert Henderson Robertson

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(b Philadelphia, PA, 29 April 1849; d Nahasane, NY, 3 June 1919). American architect. He trained in Philadelphia with Henry Sims (1832-75) and briefly in New York with George B. Post and Edward T. Potter. From 1875 to 1881 he was the junior partner of William A. Potter. His earliest works were in the Gothic Revival style. In the 1880s and early 1890s Robertson's buildings, notably institutional and commercial structures, such as the Mott Haven Railway Station, Bronx, New York (1885-6; destr.; for illustration see Schuyler (1891), p. 25), displayed the influence of H. H. Richardson's Romanesque Revival. Following the stylistic trends of the period, Robertson's designs of the 1890s became more eclectic, combining varied historical motifs within a single structure. This is most strikingly apparent at St Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, West End Avenue, New York (1895-7; now Church of St Paul and St Andrew), with its successful fusion of Italian and Spanish Renaissance, German Romanesque and Early Christian motifs. Robertson was a pioneer in the design of skyscrapers in the historic styles favoured by the commercial architects of New York. Examples include the Romanesque Revival style Lincoln Building (1888-90), Union Square, New York, with its limestone-, brick-, and terracotta-faced fa?ades and its tiers of massive round arches and Byzantine ornament, and the Renaissance-inspired Park Row Building (1899-1902), Park Row, New York, which was, for a brief period, the world's tallest building.

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FM Sir William Robert Robertson

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Robertson, FM Sir William Robert, Baronet (1860-1933). ‘Wully’ Robertson's career was a classic rags-to-riches story. He enlisted as a private in the 16th Lancers in 1877, gained a commission, and was the first ranker to pass through Staff College, of which he later became commandant (1910-13). A rival and contemporary of Wilson (whom he followed as commandant at Camberley), he was a hard-working professional officer, when such types were rare. COS to the British Expeditionary Force in 1915, he later became CIGS, until succeeded by Wilson in 1918. Robertson was made a baronet in 1919 and commanded the British occupation of the Rhineland 1919-20, afterwards being promoted field marshal.

Bibliography

Robertson, W. R. From Private to Field Marshal (London, 1921)

— Peter Caddick-Adams

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FM Sir William Robert Robertson

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Robertson, Sir William Robert, 1860-1933, British field marshal. He enlisted in the army in 1877 and became an officer in 1888. He was in the intelligence department in India (1892-96) and served in a similar capacity in the South African War (1899-1902). In World War I he served in France as quartermaster general of the British army and chief of staff (1915) to Gen. Sir John French. Appointed chief of the imperial general staff in 1915, he came into conflict with David Lloyd George because of his strong advocacy of concentrating forces on the Western Front. He was relieved of this command in 1918. He commanded (1919-20) the British army on the Rhine and was made a baronet (1919) and a field marshal (1920). He was the first British field marshal to come up through the ranks. He is the author of From Private to Field-Marshal (1921) and Soldiers and Statesmen, 1914-1918 (1926).

Bibliography

See biography by V. Bonham-Carter (1964).

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