Preceded by Sir William Des Vœux Role Governor of Hong Kong Died December 1, 1912 | Parents J Banks Robinson Name William Robinson | |
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Spouse(s) Juliana Sophia Dampier
Felicia Ida Helen Rattray | ||
Profession Colonial administrator Succeeded by Sir Henry Arthur Blake | ||
Sir William Robinson (Chinese: 威廉·羅便臣; 9 February 1836 – 1 December 1912) 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.
Contents
- Early life and colonial services
- Governor of Hong Kong
- Personal life
- Honours
- Places named after him
- References
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 FeliciaIda Helen Rattray three years later, 21 July 1884 in Nassau. Helen died ten years later. The couple had three daughters. Robinson himself died of heart disease on 1 December 1912 in London.
Honours
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 nothing in Hong Kong named in their honour.