Charles James Alan Robertson came from Leeds to study at St Andrews University, graduating in 1964 with an MA in Political Economy and Modern History. He then went to study for an AM at the University of Pennsylvania and in 1965 he was appointed as assistant lecturer in the Department of Modern History at St Andrews. He was made full lecturer of Economic and Social History in 1968. He was awarded a PhD in 1982 and remained teaching in the Department until his death in 1993. He was a railway enthusiast, publishing The Origins of the Scottish Railway System, 1722-1844 in 1983. He was working on a sequel, The Railway Mania and its Aftermath in Scotland, 1844-54, at the time of his death.
From the guide to the Papers of Charles James Alan Robertson, 1964-1993, (University of St Andrews)