He was born in
Galashiels,
Selkirkshire to parents Andrew Hunter Herbertson and Janet Matthewson. He went to school locally at
Galashiels Academy and in Edinburgh at
Edinburgh Institution. In 1892, he was appointed to assist
Patrick Geddes with the teaching of
botany at University College,
Dundee. in 1892 he was made a Fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society. He then moved in 1892 to
Fort William, Scotland to work on a meteorological observatory on
Ben Nevis. In 1894 he moved to
Manchester to become a lecturer in political and commercial geography in the
University of Manchester. From 1896 to 1899, he lectured in industrial and commercial geography at
Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh. In 1896 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were
Peter Guthrie Tait,
Sir John Murray,
Ralph Copeland and
Alexander Buchan. in
Holywell Cemetery nearby. ==References==