Oliver Preston Robinson (1903–1990) was a prominent advertising professor at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

and later editor of the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

''. Robinson was born in Farmington, Utah, to James Henry Robinson and his wife Romania Elizabeth Chaffin. In 1922, he began college as a student at the

. Robinson served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) in France from 1924 to 1927. In 1928, he graduated from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

with a bachelor's degree. He married Christine Hinckley, a daughter of Bryant S. Hinckley, in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

in 1929. Robinson received a master's degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(NYU). He also took special courses at the University of Munich and the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 re ...

. He later received a Ph.D. in marketing and retail from NYU. He taught at NYU until 1947 when he went to the University of Utah, where he was head of the retailing department in the business school. Robinson had worked for

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

while completing his Ph.D. At other times he worked as a training specialist for

J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

and as a professor at the University of Newark (now Rutgers–Newark). While living in New York, he also served as a branch president in the LDS Church. While a professor at the University of Utah, one of Robinson's students was

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

. In 1950, Robinson became assistant manager of the ''

''. In 1952, he was made general manager of Deseret News Publishing Company and editor of the ''Deseret News''. Robinson was president of the Utah Symphony. He was also a moderator of the Nixon/Brown California gubernatorial debates in 1962. From 1964 to 1967, Robinson was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the British Mission of the LDS Church, headquartered in London. He also served on the General Board of the Deseret Sunday School Union. Robinson wrote and edited many books, some with his wife Christine. Among the works he edited was the journal of his great-grandfather, Joseph Lee Robinson. Other works he wrote include ''Store Salesmanship'', ''Dead Sea Scrolls and Original Christianity'', ''Christ's Eternal Gospel: Do the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, and Other Ancient Records Challenge or Support the Bible'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1976) . One of his books, ''Successful Retail Sales'', was illustrated by J. Rulon Hales, the father of

Robert D. Hales Robert Dean Hales (August 24, 1932 – October 1, 2017) was an American businessman and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1994 until his death. As a member of the Quorum ...

. Robinson and his wife Christine were the parents of three children.

Sources

''November 11, 1990'' Deseret News obituary

bio connected with BYU collection of Robinson's papers
* Heidi S. Swinton. ''To The Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson''. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2010. p. 107.
Good Reads listing for RobinsonOpen library entry for Robinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, O. Preston People from Farmington, Utah American Mormon missionaries in France University of Utah alumni Brigham Young University alumni New York University Stern School of Business alumni Grenoble Alpes University alumni Hofstra University people New York University faculty University of Utah faculty Rutgers University faculty Deseret News people Mission presidents (LDS Church) Sunday School (LDS Church) people 1903 births 1990 deaths American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 20th-century American writers 20th-century Mormon missionaries American expatriates in Germany