Lawyer
Centurion, 1905–1951
Born 24 June 1876 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Died 21 September 1951 in Lawrence, New York
Buried Woodlawn Cemetery
, Bronx, New York
Proposed by Chandler Robbins and George L. Peabody
Elected 3 June 1905 at age twenty-eight
Archivist’s Note: Son of Beverley Robinson; nephew of Edmund R. Robinson
Century Memorial
Beverley Robinson was elected to the Club in 1905—only seven years out of Harvard College. He was a lawyer, and a founder of the Columbia Law Review. He served on the Board of Aldermen of the City and also was a member of the Assembly from the 27th District in New York.
Robinson was a conventional man. He belonged to a lot of clubs, bar associations and boards; but to each of them he brought something quite out of common. His presentation of his ideas was temperate but forceful; and to problems that came under consideration his contribution was always instinct with understanding and homely practicality.
He travelled a great deal in Europe, where he had many friends. He liked Europe and thoroughly knew his way about. Here and there he picked up marine prints, until finally he had a marvellous collection which he left to the Naval Academy.
The range of his interests was astonishing. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and President of the Union Club; an Alderman, and President of the Museum of the City of New York; a practicing lawyer and member of the Grolier Club. His works were good works, and he did far more than his fair share for the City and its citizens.
Robinson was a delightful companion. He was well-educated, widely read, and invariably tolerant and polite. His voice had a curious cob-webby quality that is unforgettable. He was skeptical of new remedies for the ills of the world, and he accepted bad weather and human frailty as inevitable parts of the divine dispensation. He was a wise and mature person.
George W. Martin
1951/1952 Century Association Yearbook
