William Josephus Robinson (December 8, 1867 – January 6, 1936) was an American physician,

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists a ...

and birth control advocate. He was Chief of the department of Genito-Urinary Diseases at Bronx Hospital Dispensary, and editor of the '' American Journal of Urology and Sexology''. Robinson was active in the

birth control movement in the United States The birth control movement in the United States was a social reform campaign beginning in 1914 that aimed to increase the availability of contraception in the U.S. through education and legalization. The movement began in 1914 when a group of p ...

. He was "the first American physician to demand that contraceptive knowledge be taught to medical students and ..probably the most influential and popular of the American physicians writing on birth control in the first three decades of the twentieth century". As well as his own medical writings, Robinson edited the works of the pioneering pediatrician

Abraham Jacobi Abraham Jacobi (6 May 1830 – 10 July 1919) was a German physician and pioneer of pediatrics. He was a key figure in the movement to improve child healthcare and welfare in the United States and opened the first children's clinic in the country. ...

. He was also a freethinking critic of Christianity.Alois Payer
Religionskritisches von William Josephus Robinson
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Works

* (ed.) ''Dr. Jacobi's works. Collected essays, addresses, scientific papers and miscellaneous writings of A. Jacobi'', 1909 * ''Never-told tales'', 1909 * (with Leo Jacobi and others) ''Sex morality: past present and future'', 1912. Onlin

Reviewed by

Horace Traubel Horace Logo Traubel (1858–1919) was an American essayist, poet, magazine publisher, author, and Georgist. Traubel was closely associated with the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States and published a monthly literary magazine call ...

, ''The Conservator'' 23:73 (July 1912).Reprinted in Gary Schmidgall, ''Conserving Walt Whitman's fame: selections from Horace Traubel's Conservator'', University of Iowa Press, 2006. * ''Sexual problems of today'', 1912. Reviewed by Horace Traubel, ''The Conservator'' 23:139 (November 1912). * '

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

and sex', ''The Conservator'' 24:53 (June 1913). * ''A practical treatise on the causes, symptoms, and treatment of sexual impotence and other sexual disorders in men and women'', 1913 * ''The treatment of gonorrhea and its complications in men and women, for the general practitioner'', 1915 * ''Fewer and better babies, birth control; or, The limitation of offspring by prevenception'', 1916 ** ''Birth Control, or, The Limitation of Offspring'', 1916, The Critic and Guide Co. * ''Woman: her sex and love life'', 1917 * ''Eugenics, Marriage and Birth Control: (Practical Eugenics)'', 1917 ** ''Woman: Her sex and love life'', 1929, Eugenics publishing. * ''Sexual Truths versus Sexual Lies, Misconceptions, and Exaggerations'', 1919, The American Biological Society. * ''Married Life and Happiness, or, Love and Comfort in Marriage'', 1922, Eugenics Publishing Co. * ''A doctor's view on life'', 1927. Edited by Eden and Cedar Paul. * ''Sex, love and morality : a rational code of sexual ethics based upon the highest principle of morality--the principle of human happiness; the last word on the subject'', 1928 * ''Practical prevenception; or, The technique of birth control; giving the latest methods of prevention of conception, discussing their effect, favorable or unfavorable, on the sex act; their indications and contra-indications, pointing out the reasons for failures and how to avoid them. For the medical profession only'', 1929 * ''The oldest profession in the world; prostitution, its underlying causes, its treatment and its future'', 1929 * ''If I were God: a freethinker's faith, incorporating a discussion between the author and a Catholic priest'', New York: The Freethought Press Association, 1930. With an introduction by

Harry Elmer Barnes Harry Elmer Barnes (June 15, 1889 – August 25, 1968) was an American historian who, in his later years, was known for his historical revisionism and Holocaust denial. After receiving a PhD at Columbia University in 1918 Barnes became a prof ...

Online
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. * ''Rosary of Lay Saints'', New York: The Freethough Press Association, 1932 * ''Soviet Russia as I saw it; its crimes and stupidities'', 1932 * ''Happiness and how to attain it'', 1933 * ''Medical and sex dictionary'', 1933 * ''The law against abortion; its perniciousness demonstrated and its repeal demanded'', 1933 * ''Our mysterious life glands and how they affect us. A popular treatise on our glands and their secretions - what they do to us, how they affect our health, growth, appearance, temper, mentality, and character; including the vitamins'', 1934

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, William Josephus 1867 births 1936 deaths American atheists American birth control activists American skeptics American sexologists American urologists Critics of Christianity