Senator Arthur Raymond Robinson

Arthur Raymond Robinson (March 12, 1881 – March 17, 1961) was a United States senator from Indiana and a member of the Republican Party who served in the U.S. Senate from 1925 to 1935. His decade in Congress spanned a significant period in American history, including the late 1920s and the early years of the Great Depression, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Indiana constituents.

Robinson was born on March 12, 1881, in Pickerington, Ohio. He pursued an extensive education that laid the foundation for his legal and political career. He graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1901 with a Bachelor of Commercial Science (B. Comm. Sci.). He later moved to Indiana and enrolled in the Indiana Law School in Indianapolis (now the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law), from which he received a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree in 1910. Continuing his academic work, he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Ph.) from the University of Chicago in 1913. Admitted to the bar in 1910, Robinson commenced the practice of law in Indianapolis soon thereafter.

Robinson entered public life as a state legislator. He was elected to the Indiana Senate, serving from 1914 to 1918, and during that entire period he was the Republican floor leader. His legislative service coincided with the First World War, during which he entered the United States Army. Robinson served as a first lieutenant, captain, and major, and he was deployed to France as part of the Army of Occupation. After the war, he returned to Indiana and resumed the practice of law in Indianapolis.

In addition to his legislative work, Robinson held judicial office at the local level. He served as a judge of the Marion County Superior Court from 1921 to 1922. After completing his term on the bench, he again returned to private legal practice in Indianapolis in 1922. His growing prominence in state legal and political circles positioned him for higher office when a vacancy arose in Indiana’s representation in the United States Senate.

Robinson’s congressional service began with an appointment. Following the death of Senator Samuel M. Ralston, Indiana Governor Edward L. Jackson appointed Robinson to the United States Senate on October 20, 1925. Robinson was subsequently elected in the special election held on November 2, 1926, to fill the remainder of Ralston’s term, and he was reelected in 1928. He served two terms in the Senate, holding office from October 20, 1925, to January 3, 1935. During his tenure, he was chairman of the Senate Committee on Pensions in the Seventieth through Seventy-second Congresses, playing a role in legislation affecting veterans and pension matters. In 1934 he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection, which brought his Senate career to a close at the beginning of 1935.

Outside of his formal public offices, Robinson was active in Masonic organizations. He was a Freemason and a member of Indianapolis’ Capital City Lodge No. 312, where he served as Master in 1916. He attained the 33° in the Scottish Rite in the Valley of Indianapolis in 1924, a high honor within the fraternity, and he served on the Supreme Council of DeMolay between 1925 and 1927. He remained a dedicated Mason for the rest of his life, and his grave is marked with the 33° symbol, reflecting his long association with the order.

After leaving the Senate, Robinson resumed the practice of law in Indianapolis, where he continued his legal career for the remainder of his life. He practiced law in that city until his death on March 17, 1961. Robinson died in Indianapolis and was buried in Washington Park Cemetery East, closing a career that had encompassed service as a state legislator, military officer, county judge, and United States senator from Indiana.