John Daniel Robins (September 8, 1884 - December 15, 1952) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

academic and humorist. A longtime professor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

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at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

, he is noted for his book ''The Incomplete Anglers'', which was co-winner with E. K. Brown's ''On Canadian Poetry'' of the

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

at the 1943 Governor General's Awards.

Early life and education

Robins was born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, and educated at the University of Toronto and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. In 1914, he attended the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

and the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, both in Germany.

Career

Robins returned to Toronto where he taught German at Victoria College. In 1916, he resigned to enlist in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. He spent the next two years teaching

musketry A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

Camp Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Camp Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

in Ontario. He left the army in 1918 with the rank of company

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

. Robins returned to teaching at Victoria College, eventually becoming a full professor in 1941. He obtained a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree from the University of Chicago in 1927. In addition to ''The Incomplete Anglers'', his other publications include the anthologies ''A Pocketful of Canada'' (1946) and ''A Book of Canadian Humor'' (1951), the novel ''Cottage Cheese'' (1951) and the posthumous short fiction collection ''Logging with Paul Bunyan'' (1957). Robins served as a judge for the inaugural

Stephen Leacock Award The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

."Governor-General's Literary Awards; Winning Authors Announced for 1946". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. April 19, 1947.

Personal life

In 1917, Robins married Leila Isabella Douglas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, John D. 1884 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Canadian educators 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian military personnel 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian short story writers Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian anthologists Canadian Army personnel Canadian expatriates in Germany Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian folklorists Canadian humorists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction writers Language teachers Literature educators University of Chicago alumni University of Freiburg alumni University of Marburg alumni University of Toronto alumni Novelists from Toronto Writers from Windsor, Ontario