Sir Alfred Farthing Robbins ( Launceston 1 August 1856 - 9 March 1931) was a British journalist, political biographer and freemason.

Career

He was initiated in 1888 in

Gallery Lodge The Gallery Lodge is one of two Masonic lodges within the UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at t ...

No. 1928, which catered for members of the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, and in 1901 became Master of that lodge. As President of the Board of General Purposes from 1913 until his death, he was described as "the Prime Minister of English Freemasonry". London correspondent of the Birmingham Daily Post since 1888, he was president of the Institute of Journalists in 1908, and has been chairman of its Orphan Fund since 1911. He received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in 1917. His portrait, painted by

Philip Tennyson Cole Philip Tennyson Cole (30 May 1862 – 2 September 1939), generally known as Tennyson Cole, was an English society portrait painter in both oils and watercolours, who first achieved fame in Australasia and South Africa. Biography Cole was born in ...

, presented by the Institute of Journalists in 1931, is kept at Launceston Guildhall and Town Hall. He was a member of the

National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate f ...

. He married Ellen Pitt (born 1862 in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

) in 1882, and was the father of Alfred Gordon Robbins, Helen Robbins, Alan Pitt Robbins, Grenville Robbins and Clifton Robbins (1890-1964), the journalist, barrister, and writer of golden age detective fiction.1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription.
Retrieved 26 August 2016. His wife Ellen was the daughter of Ann and John Pitt who ran the White Horse Pub, 19 High St, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Sir Alfred Farthing Robbins Watch

Works

* ''Five Years of Tory Rule: A Lesson and a Warning'' (1879

* * ''Practical politics; or, The liberalism of to-day'' (1888

*
Launceston, Past and Present
' (1888) * ''The early public life of William Ewart Gladstone: four times prime minister'' (1894

* ''English-Speaking Freemasonry'' (1930)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Alfred Farthing 1856 births 1931 deaths Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England English biographers Knights Bachelor People from Launceston, Cornwall