Aylmer Francis Robinson
Encyclopedia
Aylmer Francis Robinson was an owner of a large ranch that encompassed an island in the Hawaiian Islands
.
during the Kingdom of Hawaii
. His father was Aubrey Robinson
(1853–1936) and mother was Alice Gay Robinson who was his father's cousin. This made him double great-grandson of family matriarch Elizabeth McHutchison Sinclair (1800–1892).
Besides various properties on Kauai, the family owned the entire island of Niihau
since 1864.
He was sent to the St. Mathew's Military School
in Burlingame, California
, and then graduated from Harvard University
in 1910. He returned and worked at a sugarcane plantation in Waipahu, Hawaii in 1911.
He became manager of the Makaweli ranch in 1912, and then a partner in the Gay and Robinson business, formed by his father and uncle Fancis Gay.
In 1922 he took over from his father who retired from managing the ranch on Niihau. He was scheduled for one of his weekly visits when a Japanese warplane crashed on the island after the attack on Pearl Harbor
in 1941. In what became known as the Niihau Incident
, the pilot was captured, then freed by one of Robinson's Japanese employees. Robinson led American soldiers to the island, where the remains of both the pilot and aircraft were recovered.
A species of palm tree, Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii
was named for him by botanist Harold St. John
in 1947.
Although never active himself in politics, he identified himself with the Hawaii Republican Party
, and residents of the family island voted solidly Republican even after the rest of the territory and later the state of Hawaii
, turned Democratic.
He never married, so when he died on April 3, 1967 the family estates went to his youngest brother Lester.
The Gay & Robinson sugar business shut down in 2009 after 120 years.
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
.
Life
Aylmer Francis Robinson was born May 6, 1888 at the Robinson family estate in Makaweli on the island of KauaiKauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
during the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. His father was Aubrey Robinson
Aubrey Robinson (Hawaii)
Aubrey Robinson was an owner of a sugarcane plantation and a ranch consisting of an entire island in the Hawaiian Islands.-Life:...
(1853–1936) and mother was Alice Gay Robinson who was his father's cousin. This made him double great-grandson of family matriarch Elizabeth McHutchison Sinclair (1800–1892).
Besides various properties on Kauai, the family owned the entire island of Niihau
Niihau
Niihau or Niihau is the seventh largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Niihau lies southwest of Kauai across the Kaulakahi Channel. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian Coot, the Black-winged Stilt, and the...
since 1864.
He was sent to the St. Mathew's Military School
Saint Matthews Episcopal Day School
Saint Matthew's Episcopal Day School is located in San Mateo, California. It was founded in 1953 and was previously a military school known as Saint Matthew's Hall or Saint Matthew's School.-History:...
in Burlingame, California
Burlingame, California
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...
, and then graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1910. He returned and worked at a sugarcane plantation in Waipahu, Hawaii in 1911.
He became manager of the Makaweli ranch in 1912, and then a partner in the Gay and Robinson business, formed by his father and uncle Fancis Gay.
In 1922 he took over from his father who retired from managing the ranch on Niihau. He was scheduled for one of his weekly visits when a Japanese warplane crashed on the island after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
in 1941. In what became known as the Niihau Incident
Niihau Incident
The Niihau Incident occurred on December 7, 1941, when Japanese Zero pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crash-landed on the Hawaiian island of Niihau after participating in the attack on Pearl Harbor....
, the pilot was captured, then freed by one of Robinson's Japanese employees. Robinson led American soldiers to the island, where the remains of both the pilot and aircraft were recovered.
A species of palm tree, Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii
Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii
Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii is a species of palm tree that is endemic to the island of Niihau, Hawaii, United States. It inhabits coastal dry forests at an elevation of . P. aylmer-robinsonii reaches a height of and a trunk diameter of . Harold St...
was named for him by botanist Harold St. John
Harold St. John
Harold St. John was a professor of botany at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa from 1929 to 1958. A prolific specialist in field botany and systematics, he is credited with discovering about 500 new species of Pandanus, along with many other species, especially in the Pacific Islands.Born in...
in 1947.
Although never active himself in politics, he identified himself with the Hawaii Republican Party
Hawaii Republican Party
The Hawaii Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party of the United States. Based in Honolulu, the party is a central organization established for the promotion of the party platform as it is drafted in convention every other year...
, and residents of the family island voted solidly Republican even after the rest of the territory and later the state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, turned Democratic.
He never married, so when he died on April 3, 1967 the family estates went to his youngest brother Lester.
The Gay & Robinson sugar business shut down in 2009 after 120 years.