Chambers, Robert (1802–1871)

Scottish publisher and writer. With his brother, William Chambers, he founded the publishing firm of W & R Chambers. He was at first only a contributor to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal started by his brother in 1832. Later he became joint editor, and did much to ensure the success of the paper. He wrote The Life and Works of Robert Burns (1851), for which he gathered many hitherto unpublished details from the poet's sister.

Chambers was born in Peebles, Scotland, and educated at the local school. In 1818 he opened a book stall in Leith Walk in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1825 he published Traditions of Edinburgh, which won him the friendship of Walter Scott. He was also an ardent scientist, and visited Scandinavia and Canada for geological exploration, the results of which are contained in Tracings of the North of Europe (1850) and Tracings in Iceland and the Faroe Islands (1856). In 1844 he published anonymously Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation and in 1864 The Book of Days.