Sir Johnston-Forbes Robertson (1853-1937) was the son of the art critic and journalist, John Forbes-Robertson. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools in 1870 but left to become an actor as he thought that this would be more lucrative. As an art student he had sat for Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown and his early theatrical roles were distinguished by his aesthetic rather than intellectual appeal. Nevertheless his Hamlet in 1897 was considered to be the best of his time and in 1908 he made the part of the 'Stranger' in Jerome K. Jerome's 'The Passing of the Third Floor Back' his own and people flocked to the performances in England and America. He was knighted by King George V in June 1913 and his last professional appearance was in Hamlet at Harvard University in April 1916. He died in Dover on 6 November 1937
(See W.A. Darlington, Dictionary of National Biography 1931-1940, Oxford, 1949, pp.786-787)