Sir Bryan Robinson (14 January 1808 – 6 December 1887) was an Irish-born lawyer, judge and politician in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He represented

Fortune Bay Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Build ...

from 1842 to 1848. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, the son of Reverend Christopher Robinson, rector of

Granard Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nationa ...

, and Elizabeth Langrishe, daughter of the politician Sir Hercules Langrishe and his wife Hannah Myhill, and was educated in

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

and at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. His paternal grandfather, Sir Christopher Robinson, had been a distinguished judge in Ireland, and this may have influenced his own choice of the law as a career.Lodge, John "Peerage of Ireland" Dublin 1789 Vol.6 p.75 Robinson became part of the staff of

Thomas John Cochrane Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John Cochrane (5 February 1789 – 19 October 1872) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, he captured the HMS Favourit ...

, governor of Newfoundland, in 1828. He was subsequently named sheriff for the Labrador coast. Robinson was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1831 and set up practice in Newfoundland. In 1834, he was named master in chancery for the

Legislative Council of Newfoundland The Legislative Council of Newfoundland was the upper house of the General Assembly of Newfoundland from 1833 to 1934. The Legislative Council was appointed by the Governor of Newfoundland, not elected. Bills were submitted by the House of Assemb ...

. In the same year, he married Selina Brooking. In 1844, Robinson was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. He served on the board of Commissioners of Roads for St. John's and the Board of Health for St. John's, and was also a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He also served as president of the St. John's agricultural society. Robinson was acting solicitor general in 1845, 1847 and 1849; he was acting attorney general in 1854. In 1858, he was named to the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and design ...

. He retired to England in 1877 and was knighted in December of that year. Robinson died in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

at the age of 79.

References

* * * Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 1808 births 1887 deaths Canadian King's Counsel Newfoundland Colony judges Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland 19th-century King's Counsel Attorneys-General of Newfoundland Colony {{Newfoundland-politician-stub