Professor Gordon Donaldson (1913 - March 16 1993) was a Scottish historian. Born in Leith in 1913, he spent all of his professional career in Edinburgh, joining the Scottish history staff of Edinburgh University in 1947, and remained there for 32 years, succeeding William Croft Dickinson as Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography in 1963. He retired in 1979, when he was appointed Historiographer Royal in Scotland. Former Royal Yacht Britannia is permanently moored at Leith harbour. ... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The Historiographer Royal is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. ...

He could talk about any character in Scottish history as if he knew them personally. It was his love of the sea and ships, born from his childhood in Shetland, that took him to Dysart in Fife in his retirement, where he lived in a 17th century Pan Ha' apartment. "I cannot pass my old age without the sight of the sea and ships," he said. Dysart is a small village in Fife, Scotland found on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. ... The Kingdom of Fife (Fìobh in Gaelic) is a unitary council region of Scotland situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. ...