William Robertson (1834 - 1924) came to Rochdale in 1860 and fell in love with the town and the surrounding area. He devoted much of his time to creating popular histories of the town and its inhabitants at a time of rapid change in the area. Rochdale Past and Present is a more robust history than the following volumes concentrating more on the infrastructure of Rochdale and its rapid transformation as the industrial revolution brought new wealth to the town. A new charter of incorporation also brought rapid political change.