Howard Winfield Robison (October 30, 1915 – September 26, 1987) was an American attorney and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. A Republican, he served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1958 to 1975.

Early life

Howard W. Robison was born in

Owego, New York Owego is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Tioga County, New York, Tioga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 18,728 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the Iroquoian languages, Iro ...

on October 30, 1915, the son of Addison J. Robison and Pluma (Moe) Robison. He was educated in Owego, and graduated from Owego Free Academy. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1937 and received his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

in 1939. After law school, Robison was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and began to practice in Owego.

Career

In 1942, Robison enlisted for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After completing his initial training in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, he was assigned to the

Counterintelligence Corps The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...

(CIC). Robison was a CIC investigator until receiving his discharge in 1946, and attained the rank of

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

. After his military service, Robison resumed practicing law in Owego. A Republican, he served as county attorney of

Tioga County, New York Tioga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,455. Its county seat is Owego. Tioga County is part of the Binghamton metropolitan area. The county is part of the Southern Tier region of ...

from 1946 to 1957, a member of Owego's town board from 1947 to 1956, and Owego's town attorney from 1957 to 1958.

Member of Congress

In 1958, Robison was elected to the U.S. House in a special election held to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of W. Sterling Cole. He was reelected every two years from November 1958 to November 1972 and served from January 14, 1958, until January 3, 1975. Robison voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

Later life

After leaving Congress, Robison was vice president for congressional relations at the American Railroad Association and was a resident of

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the List of beaches in Delaware, Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of 2020, its population was 1,108. Along with the neighboring coastal town of Lewes, ...

. He died in Rehoboth Beach on September 26, 1987 and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Owego.

Family

In 1946, Robison married Gertrude L. Frederick, nicknamed "Trudy". They were married until his death and were the parents of two sons.

References

Sources

1915 births 1987 deaths Cornell Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Ritchie Boys 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{NewYork-Representative-stub