Sir Robert Sangster Rait (10 February 1874 – 25 May 1936) was a Scottish historian, Historiographer Royal and Principal of the University of Glasgow.
Early life
Rait was born in 1874 in Narborough, Leicestershire to Scottish parents, although the family moved shortly afterwards to his parents' hometown of Aberdeen. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen, graduating MA in 1894. He then worked briefly as an assistant to the Professor of Logic at the university, publishing his first book, Universities of Aberdeen: A History, in 1895, before being elected to an Exhibition in Modern History at New College, Oxford, in 1896. He was awarded First Class Honours, won the Stanhope Prize and was elected a fellow of the college the same year. He worked as a lecturer at the college for three years, and in 1903 became a tutor.
Glasgow
In 1913, Rait was appointed to the newly created Chair in Scottish History and Literature at the University of Glasgow, funded through the proceeds of the 1911 Scottish Exhibition of National History, Art, and Industry, held in the adjacent Kelvingrove Park. In this role he sought to engage more closely with students than was traditional for academics at the time, inviting students to tea at his home. From 1915 to 1918 during the First World War, Rait worked at the War Trade Intelligence Department in London, and was appointed a CBE in 1918. In 1919, he was appointed Historiographer Royal of Scotland, also serving for a time as Dean of the Faculty of Arts in the university. He became a prominent figure in the intellectual and cultural life of the city, frequently contributing letters and articles to the Glasgow Herald, often anonymously.
