Sir Harry Perry Robinson (30 November 1859 – 20 December 1930) was a British writer and journalist born in British India. He worked for a while in the US and served as a war correspondent during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He also accompanied the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

on his tour of India in 1921.

Life and work

Robinson was born in

Chunar Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, Ta ...

to army chaplain Julian Robinson and Harriet Woodcocke, daughter of Thomas Sharpe, Vicar of Doncaster. His older brothers were the writer

Philip Stewart Robinson Philip Stewart Robinson (from around 1889 as Frederick Stennard Robinson) (13 October 1847 – 9 December 1902) and from 18 was an Indian born British naturalist, journalist and popular author who popularized the genre of humorous Anglo-Indian li ...

and the naturalist Edward Kay Robinson. He was sent home to Cheltenham in 1861 and went to school at Westminster School before joining

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He graduated in 1882 with honours in literae humaniores. He went to the US where he became a journalist for the New York Tribune, moving to Idaho during the Gold Rush. In 1884 he moved to the Minneapolis Tribune and in 1887 he edited the ''Northwestern Railroader''. In 1895 he published a novel ''Men Born Equal'' and in 1896 he campaigned for

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

. He moved to England in 1900 and managed the publishing firm of Isbister and Co before it went insolvent four years later. Robinson became a war correspondent for ''The Times'' and his time on the French front led to a book ''The Turning Point'' (1917). For his work during the war, he was knighted in 1920. He also accompanied the Prince of Wales to India in 1921–22. He reported from the Paris Olympics of 1924 and was present in Egypt during the opening of the tomb of

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

. Robinson married Mary Lowry in Minneapolis in 1891 and they had two children who died young. Mary divorced him after he moved to England and in 1905 he married Florence Anne Tester and they had a son. He died of pneumonia in Somerset and was cremated at Bristol.

References

External links

Book review: Escape Artist: The Nine Lives of Harry Perry Robinson

A War Correspondent on His Work
(1917)
Men born equal. A Novel
(1895)
Of distinguished animals
(1910)
Our Railroads
(1890)
The twentieth century American; being a comparative study of the peoples of the two great Anglo-Saxon nations
(1908) {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Harry Perry 1859 births 1930 deaths British war correspondents Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire