Robert Pitcairn

Robert Pitcairn (6 May 1752 – ) was a Scottish midshipman in the Royal Navy. Pitcairn Island was named after him: he was the first person to spot the island on 2 July 1767 (ship's time), while serving in a voyage in the South Pacific on , captained by Philip Carteret. Early life and family Pitcairn was born in Burntisland, Fife, in 1752. His father, John Pitcairn (1722–75), was a major in the Royal Marines who commanded the British advance party at the Battle of Lexington where the "shot heard round the world" was fired, and who died from wounds after the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. His paternal grandfather, David Pitcairn, was a clergyman at Dysart, Fife, and his paternal grandmother Katherine was the daughter of William Hamilton. His mother Elizabeth (1724–1809) was the daughter of Robert Dalrymple. His uncle William Pitcairn (1712–91) was a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. Among his eight siblings (four other sons and four daughters) were: His brother David Pitcairn (1749–1809) became a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London; His sister Catherine Pitcairn married Charles Cochrane, a British Army officer. Cochrane died in 1781 shortly after arriving as aide-de-camp to Cornwallis at Yorktown. He was the son of Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald, and first cousin of Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, His sister Anne was the mother of Sir John Campbell (1780–1863).