Henry Crabb Robinson (1775–1867) was an English lawyer, journalist, and diarist whose writings offer valuable insights into the Romantic and early Victorian periods. His diaries document interactions with key literary figures and contributions to education and social reform.
Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Robinson was educated locally before training as a lawyer. In 1800, he traveled to Germany, studying at the University of Jena, where he met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. Returning to England, he worked as a foreign correspondent for The Times (1807–09) before becoming a barrister (1813.) He helped found University College London and supported the abolitionist movement.
His most significant literary contribution, Diary, Reminiscences and Correspondence (1869,) offers firsthand accounts of friendships with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Charles Lamb, and William Blake. His notes on Coleridge’s lectures and observations on Blake’s later years remain valuable records. Additionally, Henry Crabb Robinson on Books and Writers (1938) provides further insight into his literary engagements.
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What is often called indolence is, in fact, the unconscious consciousness of incapacity.
—Henry Crabb Robinson
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