Robert Potts entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1827, graduated BA in 1832, and proceeded MA in 1835. He settled in Cambridge as a private tutor, and was a strong supporter of reform within the University. He published a highly-regarded edition of Euclid’s Elements (1845) and other mathematical treatises, as well as works on theology and the University of Cambridge. He died in Cambridge on 4 August 1885. Potts had an interest in the Waldensian community of Piedmont, particularly in the provision of books for the library of the College of the Holy Trinity at La Tour and the schools of the Waldensian towns and villages. Potts organised three collections of books and pamphlets at Cambridge (including works in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French and English), which were despatched to Piedmont in 1838, 1839 and 1846.