James Sloan Matine Robertson was born on 08 April 1905 at Johnstone. He attended Ayr Academy and University of Glasgow , where he graduated BSc in 1925 and MB ChB (Honours) in 1928 . From 1933-1936 he was an assistant in the Physiology Department at the University of Glasgow. He worked at a number of hospitals, including: the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, London; Royal Infirmary, Glasgow in 1933; and the Sick Children's Hospital, Glasgow in 1934. In 1937 he went to the Montreal Neurological Institute as Rockefeller Fellow, then to the University of Michigan in 1938. From 1939-1941 Robertson practised neurosurgery at the Royal Infirmary and Sick Children's Hospital. He was then appointed Neurosurgeon to Royal and Western Infirmaries and Sick Children's Hospital in 1941. In 1942, he was a founder member of the Neurosurgical Unit at Killearn Hospital. Robertson also became Director of Neurosurgery at the Institute of Neurological Sciences. He was Brunton Memorial Medallist, McEwan Medallist and was made FRCS England in 1932. He was awarded the OBE in 1971.
From the guide to the Papers of James Sloan Matine Robertson, 1905-, neurosurgeon, Glasgow, Scotland, 1910-1973, (Glasgow University Archives Service)
