Robert Rattray Tatlock was born on 18 May 1837 in Glasgow. He was educated at Greyfriars Church School and the Trades’ House School, where he became interested in natural science. Tatlock went on to study chemistry at Anderson’s College under Professor Frederick Penny, subsequently becoming Penny’s assistant from 1857 to 1867. In 1869 he started working as an analytical and consulting chemist and was soon joined by Doctors William Wallace and John Clark. Together they formed Wallace, Tatlock and Clark, which was dissolved after eight years. Tatlock then went into partnership with Dr James Readman and together they formed R R Tatlock and Readman. Tatlock’s nephew, Robert Tatlock Thomson, then joined the firm, which became known as R R Tatlock, Readman & Thomson. When Readman retired, the firm became known as R R Tatlock & Thomson.

Between 1873 and 1884 Tatlock filled the position of Lecturer on Chemistry at the College of Science and Arts, now part of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. He authored a number of papers on scientific and chemico-technical subjects and was regarded as a chemical expert over a wide and varied field. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland and the Chemical Society of London.

Tatlock died in 1934.