William Robinson (colonial administrator, born 1836)

{{Short description|British colonial governor}}

{{About|the governor in the West Indies and in Hong Kong|the governor in Australia|William C. F. Robinson}}

{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sir William Robinson

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCMG}}

| image = Sir William Robinson.jpg

| caption =

| office = Governor of Hong Kong

| order = 11th

| monarch = Victoria

| 1blankname = Lieutenant Governor

| 1namedata = MG Sir George Barker
MG Sir Wilsone Black

| 2blankname = Colonial Secretary

| 2namedata = Francis Fleming
G.T.M. O'Brien
Sir Stewart Lockhart

| term_start = 10 December 1891

| term_end = 25 November 1898

| predecessor = Sir William Des Vœux

| successor = Sir Henry Arthur Blake

| birth_date = 9 February 1836

| birth_place = Wetherden, Suffolk, England

| death_date = {{d-da|1 December 1912|9 February 1836}}

| death_place = 28 Evelyn Mansions, Carlisle Place, London, England

| party =

| profession = Colonial administrator

| spouse = {{plainlist|

  • {{marriage|Juliana Sophia Dampier|1862|1881|end=d}}
  • {{marriage|Felicia Ida Helen Rattray|1884|1894|end=d}}

}}

| religion =

| signature =

| footnotes =

| module = {{Chinese|child=yes|t=羅便臣|s=罗便臣|j=lo4 bin6 san4|p=|por=}}

}}

Sir William Robinson {{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCMG}} ({{zh|c=羅便臣}}; 9 February 1836 – 1 December 1912){{Cite web|url=https://www.aspiringmindstandt.com/sir-william-robinson|title = Past Governor of Trinidad and Tobago Sir William Robinson}} was a British colonial governor who was the last Governor of Trinidad and the first Governor of the merged colony of Trinidad and Tobago. He was also the 11th Governor of Hong Kong.{{cite news |title=Sir William Robinson |work=The Times |page=9 |date=3 December 1912 }}

Early life and colonial services

Robinson was born in 1836 in Suffolk, England. He was the eldest son of the Rev. Isaac Banks Robinson and Jane Susan (née Syer). He entered the Colonial Office at age 18 as a clerk, and within several years served as private secretary to Herman Merivale, Frederic Rogers and Edward Cardwell.

He became a Member of Slave Trade Commission in 1869 and was appointed Governor of Bahama Isles from 1874 to 1880. A year later, Robinson was appointed governor of the Windward Islands, a position he held until 1884. Afterwards, he became Governor of Barbados, and was transferred to become the Governor of Trinidad a year later. In 1889 the colony of Tobago was merged with Trinidad into the united colony of Trinidad and Tobago, with Robinson as its first governor, a position he held until 1891.

Governor of Hong Kong

In 1891, Robinson was appointed Governor of Hong Kong, a position he served until 1898 and later became his last post in the Colonial Services. During his tenure, Sun Yet-Sen graduated from the colony's Medical School. Also, Robinson received the thanks of the Hong Kong government for the settlement of the Fanny Josephine affair (Venezuela).

Personal life

Robinson married twice. He married his first wife, Julia Sophia Dampier, 17 July 1862 at St. Saviour's Church, Paddington. The couple had three sons. She died in 1881 and Robinson married Felicia Ida Helen Rattray three years later, 21 July 1884 in Nassau. She died ten years later and is buried in Hong Kong Cemetery. The couple had three daughters. Robinson himself died of heart disease on 1 December 1912 in London.

Honours

  • CMG, 1877{{London Gazette |issue= 24464|page=3442 |date=30 May 1877 }}
  • KCMG, 1883
  • GCMG, 1897{{London Gazette |issue=10895 |date=25 June 1897 |page=591|city=Edinburgh}}

Places named after him

Robinson Road, a major thoroughfare in Nassau, Bahamas, is named after Sir William Robinson, during whose term it was laid out.

Despite public perceptions to the contrary, there are no places in Hong Kong named after Sir William Robinson. Places in Hong Kong with the name Robinson were actually named for an earlier Governor, Hercules Robinson, later the 1st Baron Rosmead.

Robinson, Mark Aitchison Young and Christopher Patten are the only former Governors of Hong Kong who have no places in Hong Kong named in their honour.

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-gov}}

{{succession box | before = Sir John Pope Hennessy | title = Governor of the Bahamas| years = 1874–1880 | after = Jeremiah Thomas Fitzgerald Callaghan}}

{{s-bef|rows=2|before=D. J. Gamble, acting}}

{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=Governor of Barbados and the Windward Islands|years=1880–1885}}

{{s-aft|after=Sir Charles Cameron Lees|as=Governor of Barbados}}

|-

{{s-aft|after=Sir Walter Joseph Sendall|as=Governor of the Windward Islands}}

{{s-bef|before = Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock}}

{{s-ttl|title = Governor of Trinidad|years=1885–1889}}

{{s-non|reason=Post abolished}}

{{s-bef|before= himself | as=Governor of Trinidad}}

{{s-ttl|rows=2|title = Governor of Trinidad and Tobago|years=1889–1891}}

{{s-aft|rows=2| after = Sir Frederick Napier Broome}}

{{s-bef|before=J. C. O'Halloran|as=Governor of Tobago}}

{{s-bef|before = Major-General Digby Barker|as=Acting Administrator}}

{{s-ttl|title=11th Governor of Hong Kong|years=1891–1898}}

{{s-aft|after=Major-General Wilsone Black|as=Acting Administrator}}

{{s-end}}

{{Governor of Hong Kong}}

{{Governors of Barbados|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, William}}

Category:British governors of the Bahamas

Category:Governors of Barbados

Category:Governors of Hong Kong

Category:Governors of British Trinidad

Category:Governors of Trinidad and Tobago

Category:1836 births

Category:1912 deaths

Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

Category:People from the Grand Duchy of Baden

Category:19th-century Hong Kong people

Category:19th-century British politicians