Background
Abercromby was the son of George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby, and Louisa Penuel Forbes, and had two brothers and a sister.
Abercromby was the son of George Abercromby, 3rd Baron Abercromby, and Louisa Penuel Forbes, and had two brothers and a sister.
He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an honorary Doctorate of Law (Doctor of Laws).
He was a Lieutenant with the Rifle Brigade. After leaving the army in 1870 he devoted himself to languages, travel, and folklore. In 1904 he introduced the term Beaker into the archaeological lexicon to describe the late neolithic drinking vessels being found all over western Europe.
He supported the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and served as its president from 1913 to 1918.
His will provided for the foundation of the Abercromby Chair of Archaeology at Edinburgh University, a post occupied by Vere Gordon Childe and Stuart Piggott. His books include A study of Bronze Age pottery in Europe (Oxford, 1912).
He is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh at its east side, close to the main entrance. They had one daughter, Edla Louisa Montague Abercromby (b 1877), who married Georges North. Nasos in 1906.
As he had no son, the Barony of Abercromby became extinct on his death.
