Charles Armington Robins (December 8, 1884 – September 20, 1970) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and the 22nd

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

Early years

Born in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

in Shelby County, at age four Robins moved west with his family to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, settling at La Junta in Otero County. He graduated in 1907 from

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Conven ...

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to W ...

, then taught high school in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

, and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. He entered medical school in 1913 at

Rush Medical College Rush Medical College is the medical school of Rush University, located in the Illinois Medical District, about 3 km (2 miles) west of the Loop in Chicago. Offering a full-time Doctor of Medicine program, the school was chartered in 1837, a ...

of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, working various night jobs to put himself through, and earned his MD in 1917.

Career

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Robins entered the

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medi ...

of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in August 1918 as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

. and ended his military service on December 16, 1918. Given free transportation by the

Great Northern Railway Great Northern Railway or Great Northern Railroad may refer to: Australia *Great Northern Railway (Queensland) in Australia *Great Northern Rail Services in Victoria, Australia *Central Australia Railway was known as the great Northern Railway in ...

to look at two towns that needed physicians, he left

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

the following week. He arrived in

St. Maries, Idaho St. Maries (pronounced like "St. Mary's") is a city in north central Idaho, the largest in rural Benewah County and its county seat. Its population was 2,402 at the 2010 census, down from 2,652 in 2000. History The townsite was selected by Jose ...

, on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

and chose it over

Three Forks, Montana Three Forks is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States and is located within the watershed valley system of both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers drainage basins — and is historically considered the birthplace or start of the Mi ...

, and stayed for 28 years, until elected governor. For a generation, Robins delivered nearly every baby in Benewah County. Robins was a member of the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

for four terms, from 1939 to 1947. He ran for governor in 1946, and was the first in Idaho to be elected to a four-year term; all previous governors had been elected to two-year terms. He handily defeated the incumbent, Arnold Williams, who had gained the office when his predecessor, Charles Gossett, resigned to be immediately appointed by Williams to a vacant seat in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. :*Williams was elected as lieutenant governor in 1944, and became governor in late 1945. The new four-year term disallowed self-succession (re-election) until 1958, so Robins and his Republican successor in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

Len Jordan Leonard Beck Jordan (May 15, 1899June 30, 1983) was an American politician who served as the 23rd governor of Idaho and a United States Senator for over ten years. Early life and education Born in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Jordan's father was a cou ...

, served single four-year terms and retired from office. The state constitution was later amended, after receiving voter approval in the 1956 general election. Robins was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

while in office as governor. Not allowed to compete for a second term in 1950, he ran for the

, but was defeated in the August primary by

Herman Welker Herman Orville Welker (December 11, 1906 – October 30, 1957) was an American politician from the state of Idaho. He was a member of the Idaho Republican Party and served one term in the United States Senate, from 1951 to 1957. Early years Born ...

. After leaving the governor's office in 1951 at age 66, Robins moved his residence from St. Maries to Lewiston and became the medical director of the north Idaho district of the Medical Service Bureau, later known as Regence Blue Shield.

Personal

Robins married Marguerite Sherman Granberry (1892–1938) on July 8, 1919, in

Hazlehurst, Mississippi Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States, located about south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan S ...

; she died at age 46 in May 1938 and they had no children. He married Patricia Simpson (1914–1993) of St. Maries, one of his nurses, in November 1939 and they had three daughters: Patricia, Paula, and Rebecca. He was a member of the American Legion, the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's stat ...

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Ph ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

Nu Sigma Nu Nu Sigma Nu () was an international professional fraternity for medicine, now existing as a handful of stable remaining chapters. It was founded on 2 March 1882 by five medical students at the University of Michigan, who identified as their immed ...

professional fraternity Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of profess ...

, and Freemasons.

Death

Robins died at age 85 in Lewiston on September 20, 1970, and is interred at Lewis Clark Memorial Gardens in Lewiston.

References

External links

*
National Governors Association: biography
– C.A. Robins
The Nicholas Robbins Family
- Charles A. Robins

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, C. A. 1884 births 1970 deaths Republican Party governors of Idaho Republican Party Idaho state senators People from Lewiston, Idaho People from Shelby County, Iowa United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Medical Corps officers Rush Medical College alumni William Jewell College alumni 20th-century American politicians People from La Junta, Colorado People from St. Maries, Idaho Physicians from Idaho Physicians from Colorado 20th-century American Episcopalians Military personnel from Iowa Military personnel from Colorado