Material from the news cuttings albums (RCPP/Robinson/6/1 and RCPP/Robinson/6/2) that came to us after Sir David Robinson’s death has been used in a display in the Library throughout Michaelmas Term 2023. 

These artifacts, three in all, are a magnificent celebration of our Benefactors philanthropic giving. 

Amongst the news articles carefully cut out and stuck into the albums are letters he received praising his giving. These came from people locally and further afield.

Pastor John Dinwoodie from Cumbria wrote

“Well done… This act of yours will bring you that inward satisfaction that all the money in the world cannot buy. You will be remembered by future generations not because of your ability on the Turf but because you gave and that for the betterment of humanity.”

Another letter states

“What a marvellous gift you’ve given Cambridge! I only hope future generations will be worthy of it.”

These letters clearly meant a lot to Sir David Robinson, being motivated as he was to give a helping hand to others. He famously said “Making a million or so doesn’t make you happy. If you have a million pounds you buy a yacht and a few diamonds. But you can’t spend two million pounds. In the end, you usually give it away.”

It was in 1968, with the establishment of The Robinson Charitable Trust, that he set about giving away his fortune. He was cognizant of the declining health of both himself and his wife and astute enough to plan for a time when a quieter life would be desired. In addition to the money for Robinson College he gave to Bedford Council for a public swimming pool, to Papworth Hospital for heart transplants, to Addenbrookes Hospital for the Rosie Maternity Unit, and to the RNLI for lifeboats.

By 1982 the publicly recorded gifts from the Trust came to a sum of £26.05 million. He was close to his target of gifting all of his fortune at the time of his death in 1987, having managed to give away 95%.

For any archives enquiries, please email archivist@robinson.cam.ac.uk

Posted by Judith, 30th November 2023