Donald James Robertson was born on the 17 May 1926 , the son of Adam Robertson and Margaret Gibson. He was educated at Hutcheson's Boy's Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow . After graduating in 1949 , he became assistant in the Political Economy Department, moving in 1950 to become research assistant at Oxford University's Institute of Statistics. In 1951 he returned to the University of Glasgow to lecture, becoming senior lecturer in 1957 . In 1961 he became the Professor of Applied Economics and the Head of the Department of Social and Economic Research. In 1969 he became Professor of Industrial Relations and Principal's Assessor, a post which effectively made him the first of the University's Vice-Principals. He held visiting positions at the University of Oxford and the University of California at Berkeley in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Robertson was extremely active in industry, for example: as economic consultant to the Secretary of State for Scotland in the 1960s and as a member of various bodies such as the Scottish Economic Planning Board and Council and the British Institute of Management. His publications include: Factory Wage Structures and National Agreements , (1961); Public expenditure: Appraisal and control , (1965) (edited with A T Peacock); Fringe Benefits, Labour Costs and Social security , (1965) (edited with G L Reid); British Balance of Payments , (1966) (edited); Economics of wages and labour , (1969) (with L C Hunter); as well as numerous articles in journals. He married Amy Affleck Mitchell in 1955 and had two daughters. He died on the 22 August 1970 .
Source: Who's Who .
From the guide to the Papers of Donald James Robertson, 1926-1970, economist, Professor of Industrial Relations and Principal's Assessor, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1969-1970, 1963-1970, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
