Ira Ellsworth Robinson (September 16, 1869, near Grafton, Taylor County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

– October 28, 1951, Philippi, West Virginia) was a politician, judge, and the first chairman of the

Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...

(1928-32).

Biography

Robinson graduated from the Fairmont State Normal School in 1889 and then studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1891. From 1896 to 1900, he was the Taylor County prosecuting attorney. He was a member of the Board of Regents of the State Normal School system from 1901-07. Robinson was elected to the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in t ...

for the 1903-04 session and was then appointed to the

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 ...

in 1907, being elected in 1908 to the remainder of the unexpired term (through 1915). In 1916, Robinson was the Republican nominee for governor of West Virginia, losing by a narrow margin to Democrat John J. Cornwell. In 1917-18, he served as the chairman of the draft board for northern West Virginia. In 1921, he was put in charge of administration of the federal War Minerals Relief Act. In 1920, Robinson purchased an 1870 mansion in Barbour County which he renamed Adaland Mansion after his wife; it is now a museum. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1995. In 1928, Robinson was appointed to the

and became its first chairman; he resigned in January 1932. He presided over the 1928 reallocation known as

General Order 40 The Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40, dated August 30, 1928, described the standards for a sweeping reorganization of radio broadcasting in the United States. This order grouped the AM radio band transmitting frequencies into thre ...

, although he opposed it as too favorable to network radio stations. He helped mold much of the early regulation of radio in the US.''Broadcasting Telecasting'', November 5, 1951, Robinson obituary, p. 60 Robinson was forced to sell Adaland later in life and died in considerable financial difficulties. He is buried in Bluemont Cemetery in his birthplace of Grafton, West Virginia.

References

External Links

*The

West Virginia & Regional History Center The West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC), is the largest archival collection housing documents and manuscripts involving West Virginia and the surrounding central Appalachian region. Because of name changes over the years, it is some ...

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

houses the papers of Ira E. Robinson in three collections
A&M 155A&M 294
an
A&M 965
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Ira E. 1869 births 1951 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia Fairmont State University alumni Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Members of the Federal Radio Commission People from Barbour County, West Virginia People from Grafton, West Virginia West Virginia lawyers West Virginia state senators