Robert Skene (British Army officer)
British Member of Parliament (1719-1787)
Lieutenant-General Robert Skene (1719–1787) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1779 and 1787.
Early life
Skene was the eldest son of David Skene of Pitlour or Hallyards, and his wife Jean Douglas, daughter of John Douglas of Strathendry, Fife. He was a cousin of Adam Smith.
Army career
Skene joined the army and was an ensign in the 19th Foot in 1743 and lieutenant in 1745. He succeeded to his father’s estates in 1747. In 1756 he became a captain in a newly formed regiment, the 59th Foot. He was lieutenant-colonel and deputy adjutant-general for North Britain in 1758 and adjutant general in 1763. From 1767 to 1789 he was inspector of roads in the Highlands. He became Colonel in 1772, Major-general in 1777 and Lieutenant-general in 1782. He was also Colonel of the short lived 99th Foot (Jamaica) from 1781 to 1783 and Colonel of the 48th Foot from 1783 to his death.
“Robert Skene (British Army officer)” enters the record as british Member of Parliament (1719-1787). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Robert, Skene and British can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26905895. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1719, 1787, 1779 and 1743.
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This entry incorporates text from “Robert Skene (British Army officer)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.