Robert Lichton was born in 1631 at Humsland in Porvoo parish of the Swedish Empire (now Finland). He was the son of Colonel John Lichtoun of Ulishaven († 1636) and Catharina Gutherie. When his father fell at the Battle of Wittstock during the Thirty Years' War, Robert, while still a child, inherited his estate of Tervik. At the age of fifteen he entered the Swedish Army as a private and a Musketeer and participated in campaigns in Germany, Poland and Denmark. In 1661 Lichton joined the Swedish House of Nobility as a nobleman. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1675 and created a baron. Lichton was appointed Governor of Estonia (Estland) He received this honor at just age fifty in 1681 while a Major general.