Robert MacDonald (1813–1893) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1882/83.

He was born in Perth on 18 May 1813, the son of Alexander MacDonald, wine merchant, and Charlotte Macfarlane.

Together with a group of other ministers from Central Scotland including Robert McCheyne and Andrew Bonar, they conceived the idea of the Free Church "like a torch of fire in a sheaf".

[6] Along with Rev Thomas Chalmers he was one of the main figures in organising the building of New College on the Mound in Edinburgh.

[11] In 1882 he succeeded Rev William Laughton as Moderator of the General Assembly, the highest position in the Free Church of Scotland.

MacDonald's North Leith Free Church at 74 Ferry Road closed to worship in 1981 and was demolished in 1983 to make way for a care home.