 Alexander Bower suggests in his History of the University of Edinburgh that "for upwards of a century, [it] maintained a distinguished reputation, as being one of the best seminaries in Scotland for acquiring a knowledge of classical learning".Archibald Pitcairne (1652–1713), the physician, studied at Dalkeith Grammar School  as did Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn (1733–1805) who went on to become Lord Chancellor, and Rev.William Robertson (1721–93), historian and later Principal of the University of Edinburgh.