John Buchanan Robinson (May 23, 1846 – January 28, 1933) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

who served as a Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for Delaware County from 1884 to 1888, the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for the 9th district from 1889 to 1892 and the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district from 1891 to 1897.

Early life and education

Robinson was born in

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

and was the grandson of the politician, businessman and militia general William Robinson, Jr. He attended private schools in Pittsburgh, entered the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and finished at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1864, however the Robinson family already had two sons at the front in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and used the influence of his grandfather William Robinson, Jr. to have John released from service against his wishes. As compensation, he was appointed a cadet at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

by Congressman Thomas Williams and graduated in 1868. He was commissioned a Lieutenant and circumnavigated the globe on the USS ''Colorado''. He was a member of the second U.S. party to be granted an audience before the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. In 1873, Robinson returned to the U.S. and served on the USS ''Michigan'' on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. He also served on the USS ''Juniata'' when it sailed to

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

to demand the release of American citizens seized on the Virignius by Spanish authorities. He resigned from the Navy in 1875 and moved to

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylv ...

. He studied law under John G. Johnson and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1876. In 1878, Robinson moved to

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area. ...

and was admitted to the Delaware County bar. He was also admitted to practice in the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

. He worked as editor of the '' Delaware County Gazette'' in 1881 and 1882, and as a newspaper correspondent and owner of the '' Media Ledger''.

Political career

Robinson served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the Delaware County district in 1884 and 1886 and to the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 9th district from 1889 to 1892. Robinson was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896. He served as president of the League of Republican Clubs of Pennsylvania from 1891 to 1897. He was a member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy in 1893. Robinson was also a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in

1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

, and 1908. In 1900, Robinson was appointed by President McKinley as

United States marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

for the eastern district of Pennsylvania. He was reappointed in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt and again in 1912 by President Taft. Robinson served until 1913.

Personal life

In 1874, Robinson married Elizabeth Waddington in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

and together they had seven children. Elizabeth was a granddaughter of Charles Gilpin, the

Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

from 1850 to 1854. The couple met during summer vacations in Cresson, Pennsylvania. Robinson was a member of the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Odd Fellows, Order ...

, the American Protestant Association, Knights of Pythias, Order of Chosen Friends,

Knights of the Golden Eagle The Knights of the Golden Eagle (KGE) was an American fraternal organization founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1872. At its height in the 1920s, the organization had 73,340 members in 26 states. It ceased operations in the late 1960s or early 1970 ...

Improved Order of Red Men The Improved Order of Red Men is a List of civic, fraternal, service, and professional organizations, fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. It claims direct descent from the colonial era Sons of Liberty. Their rituals and ...

, Independent Order of Mechanics and the Bradbury Post No. 149

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

. Robinson died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and is interred at the Allegheny Cemetery in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Bibliography

*Robinson, John B.
Midshipman to Congress
'. Privately Printed in Media, Pennsylvania, 1916.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, John B. 1846 births 1933 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors Amherst College alumni Burials at Allegheny Cemetery Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers Law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania lawyers People from Media, Pennsylvania Union Navy sailors United States Marshals United States Naval Academy alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the Odd Fellows 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives