David Robinson (philanthropist)
Sir David Robinson was a British entrepreneur and philanthropist. He donated £18 million to the University of Cambridge to establish a new college in his name. Robinson College, Cambridge, the newest in the university, was formally opened in 1981. Robinson also donated £3 million to start the Rosie Hospital, named after his mother, which is now a part of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
Robinson was born in Cambridge, England, but later moved to Bedford. He built a business renting radios and televisions, which was commercially successful. Robinson was also involved with horse-racing: in the late 1960s and 1970s he owned a large number of winning horses which also yielded significant profits.
His racing stables, Clarehaven, was one of the biggest racing stables in England. His string of 120-150 horses was split between two trainers, Michael Jarvis and Paul Davey.
He was knighted in 1985, and died two years later in Newmarket, the centre of English horse-racing.
