William Stewart Robertson
William Stewart Robertson (c1855-1924)
1924 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM STEWART ROBERTSON died on the 1st September, 1924, in his seventieth year.
His connection with telegraphy commenced in 1873 when he entered the service of the Post Office at Edinburgh.
Five years later he was selected for service under the Japanese Imperial Telegraphs.
On the termination, of his contract with the Japanese Government he obtained employment in the Pouyer Quartier Cable Co. and in 1886 with the Western and Brazilian Telegraph Co. (now the Western Telegraph Co.). He served first at Bahia as an operator, becoming later Assistant Superintendent at Rio.
In 1896 he was loaned to the Amazon Telegraph Co. in Para, where he was later appointed Superintendent of the Western Telegraph Co.'s station. He held that appointment until 1904, with a short interval during which he served as electrician on the cable ship "Buccaneer."
In March 1904, he was appointed General Superintendent of the Western Telegraph Co. in South America, with headquarters at Rio de Janeiro, and held that position until his retirement in June 1920, after nearly 48 years of telegraph service, during which he saw submarine telegraphy emerge from its preliminary stages and grow into the efficient high-speed service of the present day. Although he had no share in the invention of systems and apparatus which have resulted in the existing improved working of submarine cables, he kept pace with the times and took a prominent and practical part in their application to the sections and stations under his control.
He was elected a Member of the Institution in 1898.