Sir Robert

Anderson

(1841-1918)

Sir Robert Anderson, though of Scottish descent, was born in Dublin on May 29, 1841. His father, Matthew Anderson, was Crown Solicitor in the Irish capital, a distinguished elder in the Irish Presbyterian Church.

In 1863 he was called to the Irish Bar. In 1865 he assisted the Irish government in interrogating prisoners and preparing legal briefs. In 1873 he married Lady Agnes Moore, sister of the Earl of Drogheda, a true helpmeet in every good work.

In 1877 his special knowledge of the ways of conspirators led to his appointment as Irish Agent at the Home Office, and, in 1888, when London was in the midst of the "Jack the Ripper" scare, he moved into Scotland Yard as Assistant Commissioner of Metropolitan Police and Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department. Arthur Conan Doyle was entertaining London at that time with his Sherlock Holmes stories, but it was Anderson and his staff who were ridding the city of crime and criminals. The records show that crime decreased in London during that period. He directed this work till 1901, when he was knighted upon retiring.

W. H. Smith, on the floor of the House of Commons, stated that Sir Robert "had discharged his duties with great ability and perfect faithfulness to the public." Raymond Blathwayt, in Great Thoughts, wrote: "Sir Robert Anderson is one of the men to whom the country, without knowing it, owes a great debt."

He was especially close to some of the greatest teachers of his day, including James M. Gray, C. I. Scofield, A. C. Dixon, and E. W. Bullinger..

At 11:00 p.m. on November 15th, 1918 he quietly passed into the presence of the Master whom he loved.

As an author his name will go down to generations yet unborn. His general books: "Criminals and Crime," "Side Lights on the Home Rule Movement," and "The Lighter Side of My Official Life," dealing mainly with "things present," may not survive, but his Bible study volumes, dealing with "things eternal," will remain.