Robert Liston (diplomat)

Sir Robert Liston, GCB FRSE PC (8 October 1742 – 15 July 1836) was a British diplomat and ambassador to several countries.

Liston was born at Overtoun House in Kirkliston, Scotland, the son of Patrick Liston of Torbanehill, West Lothian.

He studied languages at Edinburgh University, and then tutored the sons of the Earl of Minto. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1784. His proposers were Andrew Dalzell, William Robertson, and John Drysdale. He was granted an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1785.

Said to be able to speak ten languages, Liston joined the diplomatic service and enjoyed a career spanning Europe appointed on 22 September 1793, eventually arriving at Constantinople on 19 May 1794. He hated it there and left on 4 November 1795.

In a promotion he was posted to the United States. In 1796 he married the heiress Henrietta Marchant of Antigua. Henrietta's charm and social tact were a great asset to her husband; she also kept an interesting diary in which she records favourable impressions of George Washington and John Adams, and an unfavourable impression of Talleyrand. Robert was also on excellent terms with Washington, though relations cooled somewhat after Adams' election.

On 26 March 1812 he was sworn a Privy Councillor, and on 21 October 1816, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Bath.

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