Appointment of William Robertson as Principal of Edinburgh University, 1762
The appointment of William Robertson (1721-1793) as Principal in 1762 was pivotal in turning Edinburgh University into a major centre of Enlightenment thought.
Intitally working in conjunction with the The Lord Provost of Edinburgh, George Drummond (1688-1766), his reforms included reactivating the Senatus Academicus, reforming the degree structure and curriculum, and establishing a Library Fund.
New Professorships that were established under Robertson include:
- Pharmacology (1768)
- Surgery (1777)
- Natural History (1790)
- Astronomy (1790)
The Chair of Botany was elevated to a Regius Professorship, and a new Botanical Garden was opened in 1763.
Improvements to University buildings included a new extension for the University Library, a new natural history museum, and plans for a new college building which would only see fruition after Robertson's death.
Robertson's influence proved vital in elevating the academic standing of the University throughout Britain and Europe. A roll-call of major appointments under his Principalship includes:
- Dugald Stewart (1753-1828)
- Adam Ferguson (1723-1816)
- John Playfair (1748-1819)
- Andrew Dalzel (1742-1806)
- John Bruce (1745-1826)
- John Robison (1739-1805)
- Alexander Fraser Tytler (1747-1813)
- John Hope (1725-1786)
- Daniel Rutherford (1749-1819)
- William Cullen (1710-1790)
- James Gregory (1753-1821)
- John Gregory (1724-1773)
- Alexander Monro "secundus" (1733-1817)
- Joseph Black (1728-1799)
- Francis Home (1719-1813)