Robert Leighton (5 June 1858 – 11 May 1934) was a Scottish journalist, editor, and writer of boys' fiction. He was an editor of juvenile magazines, and through his work at Young Folks he met his future wife Marie Connor, a prolific author in her own right. Leighton became an expert on dogs and their care and produced many works on this topic.
Early life
Leighton was born in the town of Ayr in Scotland on 5 June 1858 to Robert Leighton, a Scottish poet (20 February 1822 – 10 May 1869), and Elizabeth Jane Campbell (1820–1914). Some sources, such as the British Library give his year of birth as 1859. Others, including Sutherland, give it at 1858. However, his father only worked in Ayr from 1854 to 1858 for a Liverpool seed merchant, and the only male Leighton born in the District of Ayr from 1854 to 1864 was an unnamed son to Leighton's parents on 5 June 1858.
In the 1861 Census, Leighton was living in Liverpool, where his father was employed by a seed and agricultural supplies merchant. He was educated in the school attached to the Hope Street Unitarian Chapel in Liverpool. He began work as a journalist at age 14, working first for the Liverpool Porcupine, a social and satirical journal.
Moving to London
Leighton moved to London in 1879 and began working for Young Folks magazine as an assistant editor. Young Folks accepted Treasure Island from Robert Louis Stevenson and ran it as a serial from 1881 to 1882 while he was first assistant editor. Young Folks also serialised The Black Arrow in June – October 1883. Leighton was the editor from 1884 to 1885.
