Robert Anderson (Scotland Yard official)

His father, Matthew Anderson, was Crown Solicitor, a distinguished elder in the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, and of Ulster Scots descent.

Their sister Annie married Sir Walter Boyd, 1st Baronet, a dominant figure among the Irish judiciary in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and a staunch upholder of British rule in Ireland.

After studying in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Paris, he entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1862, and in 1863 was called to the Irish Bar.

Almost immediately after being promoted, Anderson went on vacation in Switzerland on doctor's orders, leaving the Metropolitan Police leaderless during the biggest challenge in its history.

His sister Annie, later Lady Boyd, was influenced by the Irish Evangelical Revival of 1859–1860 and persuaded him to attend one of the services held in Dublin by the Reverend Joseph Denham Smith, but he was not particularly impressed.

Anderson later wrote that in that sermon Hall boldly proclaimed forgiveness of sins, and eternal life as God's gift in grace, unreserved and unconditional, to be received by us as we sat in the pews.

So I waylaid him as he left the vestry, and on our homeward walk I tackled him about his heresies... At last he let go my arm, and, facing me as we stood upon the pavement, he repeated with great solemnity his gospel message and appeal.

"[5]He was especially close to some of the greatest biblical teachers of his day, including James Martin Gray, Cyrus Scofield, A. C. Dixon, Horatius Bonar and E. W. Bullinger.

He wrote numerous theological works: C. H. Spurgeon commented that Anderson's book Human Destiny was "the most valuable contribution on the subject" that he had seen.

Anderson's calculations showed that Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem to public acclaim, Luke 19, known as the Triumphal Entry, on the precise day that was prophesied by Daniel.

On the floor of the House of Commons, W. H. Smith stated that Anderson "had discharged his duties with great ability and perfect faithfulness to the public".