Charles Kirkby Robinson (1826 – 1909) was a British clergyman and academic, whose election to the Mastership of

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

in 1861 caused great controversy. Charles Robinson was born in 1826 in Acomb,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, and he matriculated at

in 1845. He was elected scholar in 1846, and graduated as 22nd Wrangler in 1849. He was appointed Fellow and Tutor in 1850, and was

Junior Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

in the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

from 1858-1859. He was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1850. He was perpetual curate of St Andrew-the-Less, Cambridge, 1859-62. The circumstances of his election to Master in 1861 have been outlined by W. H. S. Jones. At the time, there were just five Fellows of the college who were the electorate. Of these, two were candidates - Robinson, and Francis Jameson. In the election, Jameson received two votes, but Robinson received three: his own, Jameson's, and just one other. Since Jameson may have cast his vote under the impression that the candidates were to vote for each other while Robinson did not, this caused something of a stir at the time. Jameson left the Fellowship of St Catharine's shortly after, in 1862. W. H. S. Jones records that 'this was probably the greatest disaster that ever happened to any college'; whether this was the case or not, the circumstances of the election were not forgotten during Robinson's long tenure as Master, from 1861-1909. Robinson was eventually succeeded as Master by Claude Johns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Charles Kirkby 1826 births 1909 deaths Masters of St Catharine's College, Cambridge