Robert Cullen, Lord Cullen FRSE (1742–1810) was a Scottish judge. He played a key role, along with his father William Cullen

William Cullen

William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and one of the most important professors at the Edinburgh Medical School, during its heyday as the leading center of medical education in the English-speaking world.Cullen was also a central figure in the...

, in obtaining a royal charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 for the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, resulting in the formation of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Royal Society of Edinburgh

The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...

 in 1783.

Born on 22 September 1742, in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, the son of eminent physician and chemist William Cullen and Anne Johnstone (d.1786), Robert was educated at Edinburgh University. His brother was the physician Henry Cullen

Henry Cullen

Henry Cullen FRSE FRCPE was a Scottish physician. He was Chair and Professor of Medicine at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. A member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh when it received its royal charter, he automatically became a founding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783.Born...

.

He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates

Faculty of Advocates

The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...

 in 1764, and served as a Senator of the College of Justice

Senator of the College of Justice

The Senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of Senator: Lords of Session ; Lords Commissioner of Justiciary ; and the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court...

 (1796-9), and as Lord of Justiciary (1799–1810).