Rev. Dr. Robert Gordon (1786-1853) was a prominent minister in the Church of Scotland and served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1841. At the General Assembly in 1842, Gordon seconded the adoption of the claim of right moved by Thomas Chalmers. During the convocation held in Roxburgh Church in the following November, Gordon presided, and delivered a speech, described as the best apology for the Free Church of Scotland position. Following the Disruption of 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland and was minister of the Free High Church of Edinburgh until his death.
He was educated initially at the University of Edinburgh, then in 1809, transferred to Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he achieved high honours in science; he was the inventor of a self-registering hygrometer—a device to measure the humidity and water content in confined spaces, which he discussed with the notable physicist and Free Church man, Dr. David Brewster.
