David Duncan Robinson, C.B.E.

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

, F.R.S.A.

Royal Society of Arts

The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...

, D.L.

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

, is the Master of Magdalene College

Magdalene College, Cambridge

Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...

, Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

. He is also the Chairman of the Henry Moore Foundation

Henry Moore Foundation

The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore. The charity was set up with a gift from the artist in 1977...

 and was, until 2007, the Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Fitzwilliam Museum

The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....

.

Robinson was educated at The King's School, Macclesfield

The King's School, Macclesfield

-Notable former pupils:* Peter Moores, ex-England Cricket Coach* Rev. Thomas Taylor, priest and historian* Alan Beith, politician* Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent of Sky News...

 and Clare College, Cambridge

Clare College, Cambridge

Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...

.

Robinson is a leading authority on British art from the eighteenth century onwards. He joined the Fitzwilliam Museum as its director in 1995 upon returning to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 from Yale

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, taking a Professorial Fellow

Fellow

A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

ship at Clare College at the same time. He is also a Deputy Lord Lieutenant

Lord Lieutenant

The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...

 of the County of Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

 and a trustee of the Royal Collection

Royal Collection

The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...

.

In 2002, Robinson was appointed Master of Magdalene College following the retirement of Sir John Gurdon

John Gurdon

Sir John Bertrand Gurdon , FRS is a British developmental biologist. He is best known for his pioneering research in nuclear transplantation and cloning. He was recently awarded the Lasker Award.-Career:...

. In 2005 he was appointed as a Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

. Unusually for a Head of House, he remains the Director of Studies for both of 'his' Colleges: Magdalene College and Clare College.

Robinson retired as Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2007 in order to devote more time to Magdalene College, his research and his teaching.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in the 2008 Birthday Honours for services to the heritage of art.