He was the eldest son of a Whitby family engaged in the owning and operating of sailing ships. His father died when he was 18, and with four sisters and four younger brothers, there was no money for expensive higher education.
He apprenticed himself to a chemist and druggist in Bootle, migrating to a Kensington firm in 1870 and qualifying for registration in 1872. The firm's owner died and he bought it, going on to acquire also a shop in Tunbridge Wells and later a fashionable pharmacy near St. James's Palace.[2]
As a chemist and druggist, he could not become a full member of the Pharmaceutical Society, but in 1898 he and others in the same position became able to do so under an amending Act of Parliament which he had actively promoted.[3] He subsequently became a member of the society's council and served as president in 1904–1907. He was instrumental in securing the drafting and adoption of compulsory poison regulations in 1899.[4]
Local governmentedit
He was always active in local affairs. He became chairman of the Tunbridge Wells Tradesmen's Association and was a Town Councillor there; an Alderman in Kensington; a Deputy Lieutenant in the County of London and a Justice of the Peace both there and in the North Riding of Yorkshire; a Governor of the Imperial College of Science; a member of the board of the Thames Conservancy; an Income Tax Commissioner, and a cofounder and first chairman of the Society of Yorkshiremen in London. He turned down the mayoralties of both Tunbridge Wells and Kensington.[5]
He was also elected to the London County Council as one of the "Moderates" (linked to the Conservatives) who opposed the "Progressive" (linked to the Liberals) majority. He served as deputy chairman of the council in 1903–04, and was leader of the "Municipal Reform Party" (the more active title assumed by the Moderates) in 1907 when, in a bitterly fought election, they won a remarkable majority against what they denounced as the Progressives' extravagance and wastefulness. After forming the first Municipal Reform administration, he served as chairman of the council in 1908–09. He was knighted in 1916,[6] the first time that (as a result of the formation of the wartime coalition government) the Conservative Party could honour the success he had helped to achieve in 1907.
Later lifeedit
During the First World War, he retired from business, serving as vice-chairman of the London Tribunal on Profiteering. In 1920 he moved back to Whitby where he became chairman of the urban district council.
Familyedit
In 1876 he married Jane Thistle of another Whitby family, and in 1926 they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary,[7] as her parents and grandparents and his grandparents had done and as one of their sons and four of their grandchildren did later. He helped his children get better education than he had done and all his sons attended university or took equivalent professional qualifications, while his eldest daughter graduated at the London School of Economics and lectured there before the First World War.
Deathedit
He died on 28 April 1928 in Whitby,[8] survived by his widow, three daughters and two sons. (Two other sons predeceased him, having been killed in action during WWI.)
Referencesedit
^William Eric Jackson (1965), Achievement: a short history of the London County Council, Longmans
richard, robinson, municipal, reform, politician, richard, atkinson, robinson, october, 1849, april, 1928, retail, chemist, druggist, later, became, local, politician, first, member, municipal, reform, party, linked, conservatives, lead, london, county, counci. Sir Richard Atkinson Robinson DL 16 October 1849 28 April 1928 was a retail chemist and druggist who later became a local politician and was the first member of the Municipal Reform Party linked to the Conservatives to lead the London County Council 1907 1908 1 Sir Richard Atkinson RobinsonPortrait of Richard Atkinson Robinson by William Quiller OrchardsonBorn 1849 10 16 16 October 1849WhitbyDied28 April 1928 1928 04 28 aged 78 NationalityBritishOccupation s Chemist druggist Contents 1 Early life 2 Local government 3 Later life 4 Family 5 Death 6 ReferencesEarly life editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Richard Robinson Municipal Reform politician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message He was the eldest son of a Whitby family engaged in the owning and operating of sailing ships His father died when he was 18 and with four sisters and four younger brothers there was no money for expensive higher education He apprenticed himself to a chemist and druggist in Bootle migrating to a Kensington firm in 1870 and qualifying for registration in 1872 The firm s owner died and he bought it going on to acquire also a shop in Tunbridge Wells and later a fashionable pharmacy near St James s Palace 2 As a chemist and druggist he could not become a full member of the Pharmaceutical Society but in 1898 he and others in the same position became able to do so under an amending Act of Parliament which he had actively promoted 3 He subsequently became a member of the society s council and served as president in 1904 1907 He was instrumental in securing the drafting and adoption of compulsory poison regulations in 1899 4 Local government editHe was always active in local affairs He became chairman of the Tunbridge Wells Tradesmen s Association and was a Town Councillor there an Alderman in Kensington a Deputy Lieutenant in the County of London and a Justice of the Peace both there and in the North Riding of Yorkshire a Governor of the Imperial College of Science a member of the board of the Thames Conservancy an Income Tax Commissioner and a cofounder and first chairman of the Society of Yorkshiremen in London He turned down the mayoralties of both Tunbridge Wells and Kensington 5 He was also elected to the London County Council as one of the Moderates linked to the Conservatives who opposed the Progressive linked to the Liberals majority He served as deputy chairman of the council in 1903 04 and was leader of the Municipal Reform Party the more active title assumed by the Moderates in 1907 when in a bitterly fought election they won a remarkable majority against what they denounced as the Progressives extravagance and wastefulness After forming the first Municipal Reform administration he served as chairman of the council in 1908 09 He was knighted in 1916 6 the first time that as a result of the formation of the wartime coalition government the Conservative Party could honour the success he had helped to achieve in 1907 Later life editDuring the First World War he retired from business serving as vice chairman of the London Tribunal on Profiteering In 1920 he moved back to Whitby where he became chairman of the urban district council Family editIn 1876 he married Jane Thistle of another Whitby family and in 1926 they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary 7 as her parents and grandparents and his grandparents had done and as one of their sons and four of their grandchildren did later He helped his children get better education than he had done and all his sons attended university or took equivalent professional qualifications while his eldest daughter graduated at the London School of Economics and lectured there before the First World War Death editHe died on 28 April 1928 in Whitby 8 survived by his widow three daughters and two sons Two other sons predeceased him having been killed in action during WWI References edit William Eric Jackson 1965 Achievement a short history of the London County Council Longmans The Chemist and Druggist 5 May 1928 p 568 The Pharmaceutical Journal 4 June 1904 The new President and Vice President p 766 The Pharmaceutical Journal and Pharmacist 20 May 1911 p 686 The Pharmaceutical Journal 19 May 1906 A Leader in Pharmacy Richard Atkinson Robinson an appreciation p 580 No 29483 The London Gazette 22 February 1916 pp 1946 1947 The Pharmaceutical Journal and Pharmacist 12 May 1928 p 463 Tombstone of Jeremiah Robinson and others St Mary s Church Whitby Political offices Preceded byHenry Percy Harris Chairman of the London County Council1908 1909 Succeeded bySir Melvill Beachcroft Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richard Robinson Municipal Reform politician amp oldid 1184142598, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
