Robert Chambers blue plaque

This blue commemorative plaque records: Robert Chambers, LLD (St A), FRSE, 1802-1971. First came to St. Andrews in 1842. He built this house and lived here from 1863-71. He had to leave school at 14, but he loved learning. His wish to spread knowledge led him and brother William in 1832 to found the firm of W and R Chambers, which was to become, for a time a time, the most successful publishing house in the English-speaking world. Robert wrote books on many subjects and some of the earliest text books for schools. In 1844, written anonymously, "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation", fundamentally a theory of evolution, anticipated Darwin by 15 years. His great work was the 10 volume "Encyclopedia, A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People".

Robert Chambers, though leaving school at fourteen, became a prolific writer and publisher, founding W and R Chambers which produced seminal works including the "Encyclopedia, A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People". His anonymously published "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation" in 1844 was an early exposition on evolutionary theory, predating Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" by fifteen years.