Arthur Napoleon Raymond (Ray) Robinson, 1926-2014 (1952-4)

He arrived in Oxford in 1952 on a Colonial Scholarship and matriculated at St. John’s, reading PPE and graduating with a BA degree in 1954 (as he had already attended university in the West Indies he would have been accepted as a senior scholar and could take a degree in two years). Robinson was called to the bar at the Inner Temple, and was in practice as a barrister from 1956-61. He was a founding member of the People’s National Movement, and the party Treasurer from 1956. Robinson served in the Parliament of the West Indies Federation between 1958-61, and was elected to the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago in 1961, serving as MP for Tobago.  Robinson resigned from his party in 1970 after the Black Power Revolution and formed the Action Committee of Democratic Citizens, merging it with the Democratic Labour Party to contest the General Elections in 1971. In 1986, Robinson was elected the third Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, serving in this role until 1991. He was also the third President of Trinidad and Tobago from 1997-2003. He published widely on politics, fiscal reform, and teaching and nationalism.[i] 

Robinson was made an Honorary Fellow of St. John’s in 1988, and served on the Council for his alma mater, the University of West Indies. We have regretfully, found very little by way of records of Robinson’s time at St. John’s. However his name and record appears in  the College Term Lists (containing names and academic details of students) as may be seen in the image included here.

[i] See the Guardian obituary for more on Robinson’s political career: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/13/anr-robinson