Robinson, Bernard A 1888 - 1979
- Nationality:
- British
(1888-1979), pioneer of electrocardiography
Bernard A Robinson studied physics and electrical engineering in London and in 1905 he joined the Amalgamated Radio Telegraph Company at Cullercoats near Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1907 the company sent him to Professor Willem Einthoven's department in Leiden to obtain a model of the string galvanometer that Einthoven had invented in 1901. Einthoven generously gave original electrocardiograms to Robinson and also copies of his articles. Robinson had been recruited by Mr Robert Whipple to take charge of the first complete Cambridge electrocardiograph "outfit" and he started work at Cambridge early in 1912 as assistant to Mr (later Sir) Horace Darwin.
Robinson worked closely with Thomas Lewis (cardiologist) and although Robinson was not mentioned in any of Lewis's papers, without his expertise Lewis would probably not have accomplished work on the excitatory process. By 1915 the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company had made 35 complete electrocardiograph outfits, which went all over the world-for example, to Western Australia, Japan, Russia, India, France, and Canada, with 10 going to the USA.
During the First World War he was also closely involved with the design and production of instruments for gun ranging and at the end of the war he was appointed resident technical engineer for Cambridge at Newcastle upon Tyne. His work now was with industry and included equipment for locomotive testing and the automatic control of blast furnaces. He became a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and contributed two comprehensive papers to their journal. In the Second World War he supervised the accuracy of Cambridge equipment used in ordnance and munition factories and after it he marked his retirement with an article that summarised 50 years of scientific instrument manufacture.
He and his wife, who had one son, were prominent in church affairs and they initiated a widely praised mission at Hexham, Northumberland, which they ran for 23 years. He was a diocesan reader for 58 years and was also a senior member of the British Red Cross Society.