Robert Keith

Bishop Robert Keith (7 February 1681 – 20 January 1757) was a Scottish Episcopal bishop and historian.

Life Born at Uras in Kincardineshire, Scotland, on 7 February 1681, he was the second son of Alexander Keith and Marjory Keith (née Arbuthnot). He was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen between 1695 and 1699; graduating with an A.M. in about 1700.

He was preceptor to George, Lord Keith (afterward the last Earl Marischal) from July 1703 to July 1710, and to his brother, James Keith. He was ordained a deacon on 16 August 1710, and from November 1710 to February 1713, he was domestic chaplain to Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll and his mother Anne, the Dowager Countess. Three years later, he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1713. He was elected Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church on 20 August 1743.

He was deeply versed in archeology, numismatics and Scottish antiquities. His published works include History of the Affairs of Church and State in Scotland and An Historical Catalogue of the Bishops of Scotland.

He died in Leith on 20 January 1757, aged 75. He is buried in Canongate Churchyard on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The grave lies slightly west of the church.