Sir Robert Liston, GCB FRSE PC (8 October 1742 – 15 July 1836) [1] [2] was a Scottish diplomat and ambassador to several countries.
Liston was born at Overtoun House in Kirkliston, Scotland, the son of Patrick Liston of Torbanehill, West Lothian. [3]
He studied languages at the University of Edinburgh, and then tutored the sons of the Earl of Minto. [4] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1784. His proposers were Andrew Dalzell, William Robertson, and John Drysdale. He was granted an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1785. [3]
Said to be able to speak ten languages, [1] Liston joined the diplomatic service and enjoyed a career spanning Europe appointed on 22 September 1793, eventually arriving at Constantinople on 19 May 1794. He hated it there and left on 4 November 1795.
In a promotion he was posted to the United States. [4] In 1796 he married the heiress Henrietta Marchant of Antigua. Henrietta's charm and social tact were a great asset to her husband; she also kept an interesting diary in which she records favourable impressions of George Washington and John Adams, [5] and an unfavourable impression of Talleyrand. Robert was also on excellent terms with Washington, though relations cooled somewhat after Adams' election.
On 26 March 1812 he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and on 21 October 1816, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Bath. [2] He served for a second time as ambassador to the Sublime Porte from 1812, finally retiring from the post in 1820. [6]
The family lived at Millburn Tower in Ratho. Liston's wife, Henrietta Marchant, died in 1828 and he died at home in 1836. [2] They had no children. [2]
He and his wife are buried in the graveyard of Gogar Kirk. Liston had bought the kirk and burial ground and built a family mausoleum at the site. However, when the kirk was rebuilt in 1890, as there were no descendants to save it, the mausoleum was demolished. It was replaced with a memorial obelisk. [7]
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Sir Robert Liston, GCB FRSE PC (8 October 1742 – 15 July 1836) [1] [2] was a Scottish diplomat and ambassador to several countries.
Liston was born at Overtoun House in Kirkliston, Scotland, the son of Patrick Liston of Torbanehill, West Lothian. [3]
He studied languages at the University of Edinburgh, and then tutored the sons of the Earl of Minto. [4] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1784. His proposers were Andrew Dalzell, William Robertson, and John Drysdale. He was granted an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1785. [3]
Said to be able to speak ten languages, [1] Liston joined the diplomatic service and enjoyed a career spanning Europe appointed on 22 September 1793, eventually arriving at Constantinople on 19 May 1794. He hated it there and left on 4 November 1795.
In a promotion he was posted to the United States. [4] In 1796 he married the heiress Henrietta Marchant of Antigua. Henrietta's charm and social tact were a great asset to her husband; she also kept an interesting diary in which she records favourable impressions of George Washington and John Adams, [5] and an unfavourable impression of Talleyrand. Robert was also on excellent terms with Washington, though relations cooled somewhat after Adams' election.
On 26 March 1812 he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and on 21 October 1816, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Bath. [2] He served for a second time as ambassador to the Sublime Porte from 1812, finally retiring from the post in 1820. [6]
The family lived at Millburn Tower in Ratho. Liston's wife, Henrietta Marchant, died in 1828 and he died at home in 1836. [2] They had no children. [2]
He and his wife are buried in the graveyard of Gogar Kirk. Liston had bought the kirk and burial ground and built a family mausoleum at the site. However, when the kirk was rebuilt in 1890, as there were no descendants to save it, the mausoleum was demolished. It was replaced with a memorial obelisk. [7]
{{
cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
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Media related to Robert Liston (diplomat) at Wikimedia Commons