Robert Dinwiddie was born on 3 October 1692 near Glasgow, Scotland. After graduating from the University of Glasgow, he moved to Bermuda, where he became collector of customs and married Rebecca Auchinleck (d. 1793), with whom he would have two daughters. In 1751 Dinwiddie was appointed lieutenant governor of Virginia. His interest in acquiring Ohio led him to send young George Washington to demand that the French withdraw from the region—an incident that helped spark the French and Indian War.