Gordon Donaldson

Gordon Donaldson, CBE, FRHistS, FBA, FRSE (1913-1993) was a 20th-century Scottish historian.

He was born in a tenement at 140 McDonald Road off Leith Walk in northern Edinburgh on 13 April 1913 the son of Magnus Donaldson and Rachel Swan.

He was of Shetland descent. Donaldson attended Broughton Elementary School (adjacent to his home) and then the Royal High School of Edinburgh (1921–31), before being awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Edinburgh. He also supplemented his income by undertaking some tutoring. After graduating in 1935 with a first-class Honours Degree in History (MA), he gained his PhD in 1938 at the Institute of Historical Research in London, where he also won the David Berry Prize from the Royal Historical Society. Donaldson also has a DLitt degree.

After working as an archivist at the General Register Office for Scotland 1938-1947, he was appointed to a lectureship in Scottish History at his alma mater in Edinburgh - largely through the offices of William Croft Dickinson. This marked the beginning of Donaldson's 32-year academic career at Edinburgh.