Robert Bigsby FSA (11 April 1806 – 27 September 1873) was an English antiquarian and author.[1]
Bigsby was born in Castle Gate, Nottingham in 1806, son of Robert Bigsby, the registrar of the archdeaconry of Nottingham.[2] His father had visited the United States in 1787 where he had often been the guest of George Washington.[1] He was educated at Repton School during the headmastership of William Boultbee Sleath, and originally intended to become a lawyer. However, he turned to the study of antiquities and in particular to collecting memorabilia of Sir Francis Drake, the famous navigator of the Elizabethan era.[2] He had inherited Drake's astrolabe, and in 1831 he presented the instrument to King William IV, who in turn presented it to Greenwich Hospital.[1] He presented other relics of Drake to the British Museum.[2]
Bigsby was awarded an honorary LLD by the University of Glasgow, became a member of several foreign literary societies, was voted a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and in 1837 a Fellow of the Royal Society (although ejected in 1845 for non-payment) and became secretary and registrar of the English "Langue" of the Knights Hospitaller.[2] He was a prolific author, writing poetry and drama but mainly concentrating on antiquarian subjects, publishing sixteen books and many articles in magazines and reviews.
Bigsby was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1851.[3]
He died on 27 September 1873 at Peckham Rye, aged 67.[1]
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