John Robinson, retired distinguished University Professor at Syracuse University, died Aug. 5, 2016, of a ruptured aneurysm following surgery for pancreatic cancer. He was 86.
Born in England, Robinson served in the Royal Air Force from 1948 to 1949 and earned a bachelor’s degree in classics from Cambridge University 1952. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy in 1953 from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton in 1956.
Thereafter, his interests focused on computers and logic. In 1963, while at Rice University, he was a visitor at the Argonne National Laboratories and became interested in automated reasoning. In 1967 Robinson became the University Professor at Syracuse. He was later a visiting professor at Edinburgh University in Scotland.
He traveled and lectured widely and received honorary doctoral degrees from universities in Leuven, Belgium; Uppsala, Sweden; and Madrid, Spain.
Robinson is survived by his wife of 63 years, Gwen; three children; and seven grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.