Robert Louis Stevenson attended Edinburgh University between 1867 and 1875. He initially studied engineering, the family profession, but gave this up in 1871. He went on to study law at the insistence of his father, who would not allow him to pursue his literary ambitions exclusively, and graduated in 1875. Stevenson's time at University seems to have been spent more in the development of his writing skills and the pursuit of life experience than in academic study. He was an editor of the Edinburgh University Magazine and a member of the Speculative Society, a literary and debating group. He was also known for his somewhat bohemian lifestyle, and frequented some of the less salubrious establishments of Edinburgh's Old Town.

The construction of Old College, according to Robert Adam's designs, began in 1789. Adams' death and the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars led to the project being halted in 1792. It was recommenced in 1817 by William Playfair, and work was largely completed by the mid 1830's. It was not until 1887 that the final finishing touch, a large dome similar to that in Adam's original design, was put to the building by Robert Rowand Anderson. This dome was topped with a bronze statue the following year. The building is still used by the University of Edinburgh.