Robert Barr (1850-1912) was an British novelist, born at Glasgow, Scotland. He was educated at the Normal School of Toronto, Canada, was headmaster of the Central School, Windsor, Ontario, and in 1876 became a member of the staff of the Detroit Free Press, in which his contributions appeared under the signature "Luke Sharp." In 1881 he removed to London, to establish there the weekly English edition of the Free Press, and in 1892 founded The Idler magazine, choosing Jerome K. Jerome as his collaborator (wanting, as Jerome said, "a popular name").