Michael Waller Robinson

Michael Waller Robinson

Member of the Illinois Senate from the 7th district
In office 1874 (1874) – 1878 (1878)
Preceded by	Rollin S. Williamson
Succeeded by	William J. Campbell
Personal details
Born	October 13, 1837 Fulton, Missouri
Died	July 23, 1912(1912-07-23) (aged 74) Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Lake View, Illinois
Profession	Attorney

Michael Waller Robinson (October 13, 1837 – July 23, 1912) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician from Missouri. Graduating from Yale University at the age of nineteen, Robinson taught at Baptist State College, where he became college president in 1860. He attended Harvard Law School then successfully ran for a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives. After attending the 1864 Democratic National Convention as a delegate, Robinson decided to move to Chicago, Illinois and became a prominent lawyer there. He served two terms in the Illinois Senate in the 1870s.

Michael Waller Robinson was born in Fulton, Missouri on October 13, 1837. During his youth, he attended school and worked on the family farm. He attended preparatory school at Fulton College and then Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. He was admitted to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated with honors in 1857 at the age of nineteen.

Returning to Missouri, he was appointed Professor of Greek and Latin at Baptist State College in Liberty. He taught for three years, assuming the presidency of the institution during the last year. In his free time, Robinson studied law under Alexander William Doniphan. Robinson matriculated at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating in 1861. Robinson again returned to Missouri, now practicing law in Fulton with future Missouri Attorney General John A. Hockaday. In 1862, he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives for a two-year term. In 1864, during the Civil War, he was arrested and held as a military prisoner for several months.