O. Preston Robinson

Oliver Preston Robinson (1903-1990) was a prominent advertising professor at the University of Utah and later editor of the Deseret News.

Robinson was born in Farmington, Utah to James Henry Robinson and his wife the former Romania Elizabeth Chaffin. In 1922 he began college as a student at the University of Utah. Robinson served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France from 1924-1927. In 1928 he graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelors degree. He married Christine Hinckley, a daughter of Bryant S. Hinckley, in the Salt Lake Temple in 1929. Robinson received a masters degree from New York University (NYU). He also took special courses at the University of Munich and the University of Grenoble. He later received a Ph.D. in marketing and retail from NYU. He taught at NYU until 1947 when he went to the University of Utah, where he was head of the retailing department in the Business School. Robinson had worked for Hofstra University while completing his Ph.D. At other times he worked as a training specialist for J. C. Penny and as a professor at the University of Newark (now Rutgers–Newark). While living in New York he also served as a branch president in the LDS Church.

While a professor at the University of Utah one of his students was Thomas S. Monson.

In 1950 Robinson became assistant manager of the Deseret News. In 1952 he was made general manager of Deseret News Publishing Company and editor of the Deseret News.

Robinson was for a time president of the Utah Symphony. He was also a moderator of the Nixon/Brown California Gubernatorial debates in 1962.

From 1964-1967 Robinson was president of the British Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in London. He also served for a time on the Sunday School General Board.

Robinson wrote and edited many books, often with his wife Christine. Among the works he edited was the journal of his great-grandfather, Joseph Lee Robinson. Other works he wrote include Store Salesmanship and Dead Sea Scrolls and Original Christianity, Christ's Eternal Gospel: Do the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, and Other Ancient Records Challenge or Support the Bible (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976) ISBN=0877476160. One of the books Robinson and his wife Christine wrote Successful Retail Sales was illustrated by J. Rulon Hales, the father of Robert D. Hales.

Robinson and his wife Christine were the parents of three children.

Sources

• November 11, 1990 Deseret News obituary
• Deseret News article on Robinson's funeral
• bio connected with BYU collection of Robinson's papers
• Heidi S. Swinton. To The Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2010. p. 107.
• Good Reads listing for Robinson
• Nov. 11, 1990 Deseret News article on Robinson's death
• Open library entry for Robinson