The Times/1897/Obituary/Robert Harrison

Layout 2Mr. Robert Harrison died on Monday at the age of 76. He was of a Lancashire family, and his mother, Mrs. Mary Harrison, was one of the original members of the New Water Colour Society, now the Royal Institute. Mr. Harrison spent much of his earlier life abroad, and lived for nearly ten years in Russia, where he was tutor in Prince Davidoff's family and lecturer in the St. Anne's College, St. Petersburg. He returned to England in 1855 to take up the appointment of librarian to the Leeds Library, and two years later succeeded the late Mr. Bodham Donne as secretary and librarian to the London Library, from which post he retired as lately as 1893. His position brought him into frequent contact with the leading literary and political figures of his time. He was a man of wide culture, and found time in the midst of a busy life to make various contributions to literature, including a small book on "Nine Years in Russia," and, in conjunction with the late Mr. Gostwick, the "Outlines of German Literature," which was passed through two editions. He edited Mackenzies's "Universal Dictionary of Biography," and was a contributor to the great "Dictionary of National Biography" now in course of publication, besides numerous minor contributions to current literature.