on 8 Jan. 1833, and was buried in the graveyard behind City Road Chapel, London. Funeral sermons were preached by Bunting at City Road, and by Robert Alder at Bristol. His portrait was one of the most characteristic works of John Jackson (1778-1831) [q . v.], and was engraved by T. A. Dean; it gives him an ascetic look, partly due to the emaciation of illness; the features are fine, and the forehead high. He married (1801) Mary Henshaw of Castle Donington, who survived him with a son Thomas and a daughter Mary, who married James Dixon [q. v.]
Watson's 'Works' were edited, with 'Life,' by Thomas Jackson (1834-7, 12 vols. 8vo; reprinted 1847, 13 vols. 8vo). A volume of 'Sermons and Outlines' (1865, 8vo) contains an essay on his character and writings by J. Dixon, and a 'Biographical Sketch' by W. Willan. Besides sermons and the works noted above may be mentioned:
- 'A Defence of the Wesleyan Methodist Missions in the West Indies,' 1817, 8vo.
- 'Conversations for the Young,' 1830, 12mo; 8th ed. 1851, 8vo.
Posthumous was
- 'An Exposition of … St. Matthew and St. Mark, and of … detached parts of … Scripture,' 1833, 8vo; edited by Thomas Jackson, being part of a projected commentary on the New Testament; this and the 'Biblical and Theological Dictionary' {1831, 8vo) are not included in the 'Works.'
He wrote many reviews in the methodist magazines.
[Funeral Sermon by Alder, 1833; Memorials by Bunting, 1833; Life by Jackson, 1834; Sketch by Willan (1865); Transactions of the Hist. Soc. of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1861, p. 136; Stevenson's City Road Chapel (1872), p. 564; Sutton's List of Lancashire Authors, 1876, p. 67; Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology, 1892, p. 728; information from the editor of the Liverpool Courier.]
WATSON, ROBERT (fl. 1555), protestant, was born in the city of Norwich. Under Edward VI he attained considerable fame as a civilian, and became steward to Archbishop Cranmer. On the accession of Mary he was deprived of his post and returned to Norwich. There he was arrested for his opinions, and, after a month's imprisonment, sent to London to appear before the council, by whom he was sent back to be confined in the bishop's palace. After an imprisonment of a year and four months he was examined on his views concerning the eucharist. He was set at liberty through the good offices of John Barret (d. 1563) [q. v.], on declaring that he held the doctrine of transubstantiation as far as it was expounded in scripture and understood by the catholic church and the fathers. John Christopherson [q. v.], the dean of Norwich, regarding this profession as equivocal, endeavoured again to lay hands on him, but he succeeded in escaping to the continent. While in exile he published an account of his trial and his controversy with his examiners, entitled ‘Ætiologia Roberti Watsoni Angli,’ 1556, 8vo. The preface is dated 1 Nov. 1555, but the place of publication is unknown.
[Watson's Ætiologia; Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, 1812, pp. 450, 610.]
WATSON, ROBERT (fl. 1581–1605), almanac-maker, matriculated as a sizar of Queens' College, Cambridge, on 22 Nov. 1581, and proceeded B.A. from Clare Hall in 1584–5. He had returned to Queens' College by 1589, in which year he was licensed by the university to practise physic. He pursued his profession at Braintree in Essex, and combined the study of medicine with that of astrology. He published for several years an almanac containing a forecast for the year. The earliest extant appeared in 1595, entitled ‘Watsonn. 1595. A new Almanacke and Prognostication for … 1595. … By Robert Watson. Imprinted at London by Richarde Watkins and James Robertes,’ 8vo. There is a copy at Lambeth; copies in the British Museum are dated respectively 1598 and 1605, the latter copy being among the Bagford papers.
[Cooper's Athenæ Cantabr. iii. 310; Gray's Index to Hazlitt's Collections.]
WATSON, ROBERT (1730?–1781), historian, son of an apothecary and brewer in St. Andrews, was born there about 1730. After studying at St. Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, he was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel; but having failed to obtain a presentation to one of the churches in St. Andrews, he was shortly afterwards appointed professor of logic in St. Salvator's College, of which he was promoted to be principal in 1777. The same year he was also presented by George III to the church and parish of St. Leonard. In 1777 he published, at London, in two volumes quarto, a ‘History of Philip II of Spain [1548–1598],’ which was praised by Horace Walpole, and had a great temporary popularity, being translated into French, German, and Dutch, and reaching a seventh edition by 1812; the work was subsequently superseded by that of the American historian Prescott. At the time of his death, on 31 March 1781, he was engaged on a ‘History of the Reign of Philip III, King of Spain [1598–1621],’ which was completed by Dr. William Thom-
