John Lewis "Lew" Robinson was born in 1918 in Leamington, Ontario. He completed his BA at the University of Western Ontario in 1940. He went on to study geography, earning an MA from Syracuse University (1942) and a Ph.D. from Clark University (1946). At the request of President Norman Mackenzie, Robinson came to the University of British Columbia to establish a Geography Division within the Department of Geology. He became chair of the division and, in 1958, established a separate Department of Geography. Robinson served as head of the department until 1968. In addition to his contributions as an administrator, Robinson also remained very active as an academic, particularly in the geography of British Columbia and northern Canada. His extensive list includes contributions to critical academic journals and more popular publications such as magazines and encyclopedias. His textbooks, particularly the Geography of Canada, are used in university and secondary schools. Throughout his career, Robinson earned a reputation as an outstanding teacher. He consistently communicated his enthusiasm for geography to graduate and undergraduate students alike and groups within the general public through his lectures and writings. In recognition of these contributions, UBC awarded him a "Master Teacher Award" in 1977. Following his retirement from UBC in 1984, Robinson remained a very active force at the institution. He played a significant role in organizing services for alumni of the Geography Department and establishing the Alumni Associations Professors Emeriti Division, the first organization in Canada. He has also been an avid supporter of UBC sports programs. In recognition of his significant accomplishments, Lew Robinson has received numerous honours and awards. Some of these include the Centennial Medal and the Silver Jubilee Medal from the Government of Canada, the Massey Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Service and the Distinguished Teaching Award for Canada of the National Council for Geographic Education. He has also received honorary degrees from the University of Western Ontario (1984) and British Columbia (1994).

Jeanne Robinson was born on March 30, 1948 in Boston.

She began dancing and choreographing in her youth, particularly in the realm of modern dance. She studied dance at many institutions including the Boston Conservatory, the Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey and Erick Hawkins schools, Nikolais/Louis Dance Theatre Lab, Toronto Dance Theatre, and the American Dance Festival.

Jeanne was the founder, director, and resident choreographer of the Nova Dance Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1980 to 1987.

The Robinsons moved to Nova Scotia in the 1970s and to Vancouver in 1987, where they continued to produce work. In the late 1990s they moved to Bowen Island.

Jeanne Robinson was diagnosed with biliary cancer in 2009 and passed away on May 30, 2010.

Mary Josephine 'Jo" Robinson (née Rowan) was born in New Brunswick in 1917. She studied History and Political Science at the University of New Brunswick and a Masters in International Relations at Clark University. In 1946 she came to Vancouver with her husband, Professor John Lewis "Lew" Robinson, who started the Geography Department at UBC. She was active in University Faculty Women's Club, actively involved in education for the deaf, and served as President of the Western Institute of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

John Cooper Robinson was an Anglican missionary who lived and worked in Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was born in Canada on July 7, 1859, in the rural community of Blenhiem in southern Ontario, the eldest of five children born to Aaron and Melissa Rowe Robinson. Aaron Robinson had come to Canada from England, and the Robinson family grew up as devoted Anglicans.

John Cooper Robinson initially studied accounting, graduating in 1877, and worked at a bank for a few years before enrolling at Wycliffe College, an Anglican Church seminary associated with the University of Toronto, in 1881. He graduated from Wycliffe and was ordained a Deacon in 1886, then was ordained as a Priest in 1887. On May 26, 1888, he married Bessie Poynton. Later that year they moved to Japan, where he was the first Canadian-sponsored missionary. Robinson and his wife spent most of their remaining years in Japan, returning to Canada for a few short furloughs (in 1894, 1902, 1911, 1918, and part of WWI). They lived in the towns of Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Niigata. Robinson and Bessie had five children, two of whom died as babies. The other three were Lucy Winifred (born in Tokyo in 1890), Cuthbert Cooper (born May 26, 1893), and Hilda. Bessie passed away in the fall of 1919. Robinson passed away in July 1926 in Saint Thomas, Ontario, and is buried at the St. James cemetery in Toronto.

Robinson was an avid photographer and captured life in Japan at a unique time, when the country was transitioning away from feudal society. The photographs that Robinson took are the only known comprehensive photographic record of this period in Japan. Robinson also published a book in 1912, entitled Japan, Island Empire of the East: Being a short history of Japan and missionary work therein with special reference to the mission of the M.S.C.C.

Hilda Robinson remained in Japan with her parents for much of her life and assisted in their missionary work. Cuthbert and Lucy grew up there as well, but eventually moved back to Canada. Lucy married George Bryce in 1913, and went on to receive a PhD and published multiple books about India, where she and George did missionary work. Cuthbert was ordained in the Anglican Church, eventually becoming Bishop of Moosonee, Ontario. Lucy and Cuthbert both had children.

Sources:
Wycliffe College. “From Wycliffe to Japan.” Insight. December 2012 No. 74. http://www.wycliffecollege.ca/documents/WC_INSIGHTXmas2012_LRproof.pdf

United Church of Canada Archives. Lucy Winifred Bryce fonds. http://www.archeion.ca/lucy-winifred-bryce-fonds

The Val d’Or Star. “Gibsons Attending Bishop’s Services.” January 7, 1955.

Biographical information unavailable.

Spider Robinson was born on November 24, 1948 in New York City. He graduated from the State University of New York in Stony Brook, Long Island, NY with a B.A. in English.

Since 1972, Spider Robinson has been publishing short stories, novelettes and novellas in "Omni", "Analog", "Destinies", and other magazines as well as book reviews and articles for publications of science fiction organizations and many novels.

Robinson has written 33 novels, including the well-known Callahan's Series, the Stardance Trilogy (including "Stardance," winner of the 1978 Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards and written in collaboration with his wife Jeanne Robinson), and the Deathkiller Trilogy.

The Robinsons moved to Nova Scotia in the 1970s and to Vancouver in 1987, where they continued to produce work. In the late 1990s they moved to Bowen Island, where Spider continues to reside.

Spider Robinson was born in 1948 in the Bronx, New York, He graduated from Suny Stony Brook, Long Island, N.Y, with a B.A. in English. He married Jeanne Rubbicco in 1975 . Born in Boston in 1948, she attended the Boston Conservatory of Music, Dance and Drama, 1966-1968, and studied ballet and modern dance techniques at numerous schools since 1968 . After their marriage they moved to Nova Scotia and Jeanne was the founder, director, resident choreographer/teacher of the Nova Dance Theatre, 1980-1987.
Since 1973 Spider Robinson has been publishing short stories, novelettes and novellas in Omni, Analog, Destinies and other magazines. In addition to science fiction novels and short stories, he has written book reviews and articles for magazines and publications of science fiction organizations . Three novels, Stardance (1978 ; Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards), Starseed (1991) and Starmind (1994) were written in collaboration with Jeanne. Spider and Jeanne Robinson won Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for Stardance . Spider robinson also won other international, national, and regional awards including the John W . Campbell Award for the best new writer (1974), Hugo Award for Best Novella for a portion of Telempath (1976), Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Melancholy Elephants" (1983) and frequent AnLab awards, 1973-84. Some of his other works included Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (1977), Antinomy (1980), Time Travelers Stricly Cash (1981), Mindkiller (1982), Night of Power {1985), Time Pressure (1987), Callahan's Lady (1989), Copyright Violation (1990), Lady Slings the Booze (1992), The Callahan Touch (1993), and Off the Wall at Callahan's (1994) . They lived in Nova Scotia after getting married until they moved to Vancouver in July 1987.

Theodore Roethke was a professor of English at the University of Washington, Lafayette, Pennsylvania State and Bennington. As a poet he was awarded many fellowships and honours, such as two Guggenheim fellowships, the Eunice Tietjens prize (1947), and the Levinson award (1951). In 1954 Roethke won the Pullitzer Prize for poetry with The Waking.

Abraham Jedidiah Rogatnick was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1923. He served in Europe with the United States Army during the Second World War and fought at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. After the war ended in 1945, Rogatnick was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant. In 1948, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology cum laude from Harvard College. Having been awarded a Fulbright scholarship, Rogatnick studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard Graduate School of Design and obtained his Master of Architecture degree in 1953. Emigrating to Vancouver, Canada, in 1955, Rogatnick subsequently became a naturalized Canadian citizen. Rogatnick began his professional career working as a designer for architect James Lawrence in Boston from 1952 to 1954.
After his move to Vancouver, Rogatnick worked as an architect for Gardiner, Thornton, Gathe and Associates from 1955 to 1959. During this period, he assisted in founding Vancouver's New Design Gallery with his friend, future Vancouver Art Gallery Curator Alvin Balkind. This institution had a profound influence on the arts in Western Canada as the city's first gallery devoted solely to contemporary art. Rogatnick remained on the Board of Directors of the New Design Gallery until 1966. He also worked as an exclusive advisor and consultant to various Canadian arts organizations, including the Canada Council, the City of Vancouver's Design Panel and the Community Arts Council of Vancouver. He also served as Director of the National Gallery of Canada's Architectural Construction Programme. At the same time, that institution planned its new Ottawa premises during the early 1970s. In 1959, Rogatnick began his academic career as an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Architecture, teaching design and Architectural History. He was made an Associate Professor in 1964 and a Full Professor in 1968. With the resignation of Vancouver Art Gallery Director Anthony Emery in 1974, Rogatnick was appointed Interim Director by the Board of Trustees until a full-time replacement could be found. His tenure at the gallery coincided with a one-year leave of absence from his duties at UBC. Rogatnick had first become associated with the gallery's administration as a member of the Exhibition Committee in 1962. From 1962 to 1965, he was a member of the Executive Council and served as its Vice-President from 1964 to 1965. Rogatnick held the position of Interim-Director from August of 1974 to August of 1975 when Luke Rombout succeeded him. Rogatnick was responsible for providing conceptual leadership to all areas of the Vancouver Art Gallery during his tenure as Interim Director. His specific responsibilities included policy-making, funding and fund-raising, as well as exhibition planning and organizing. All staffing decisions and the supervision of all staff activities were the ultimate responsibility of the Interim Director. Rogatnick also ensured that the gallery adhered to the professionally accepted acquisition, preservation, research, interpretation, and exhibition practices.
Returning to his duties at the School of Architecture in September 1975, Rogatnick remained at the UBC until his retirement in 1985. Afterwards, he served as a consultant for various local arts and architecture endeavours, including Concord Pacific's public art program in 1991. Rogatnick also continued to act as a benefactor of the Emily Carr Institute and the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. In his retirement, Rogatnick pursued a second career in drama and the performing arts. He took up acting in 1998 and appeared in a 2001 Vancouver Playhouse production of Fiddler on the Roof. In 2000, the Western Front Society staged a dance performance he conceived entitled Descent to the Underworld. In addition, Rogatnick served as an informal advisor to the mayoral campaign of Sam Sullivan during the 2005 Vancouver civic election. His support for discretionary density urban planning and supervised injection sites and his opposition to a ward-based municipal system in the city influenced Sullivan's policies as Mayor of Vancouver. He is also memorialized with the Abraham Rogatnick Library at the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery, named after him for his work on the Board of Directors and his gift to the institution. Rogatnick died on August 28, 2009, at the age of 85.

Kenneth Rogers was a descendant of the Swaledale Elliots and the Reedley Nutters.

Hans Ernest Ronimois (surname also spelled Ronimus and Hieronimus) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1912 to Estonian parents and spent his early years in nearby Kronstadt. He and his family fled Russia in 1921, in the wake of the Russian Revolution, and settled in Estonia. He studied law and economics at the University of Tartu (1930-33) and then was an instructor at the same university (1934-37). From 1937 to 1939, Ronimois studied for his doctorate in economics at the University of London. During the initial Soviet occupation of Estonia (1939-41), he taught statistics and public finance. However, when Germany invaded and occupied Estonia in 1941, he refused to lecture in German and retired to the countryside. In 1942 Ronimois managed to escape, fleeing first to the U.S. embassy in Helsinki, Finland, and then to Stockholm, Sweden, where his first wife died in 1945. After the Second World War, he moved to London to continue his studies, and in 1949 he emigrated to Canada, settling in Vancouver and eventually re-marrying. His initial appointment at UBC in 1949 was supported through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. He held a joint position in the UBC Departments of Economics and Slavonic Studies from 1949 to his retirement in 1977. Ronimois was also a frequent public speaker and noted authority on the Soviet Union and international affairs. He died in 1984.

William John Rose was born in 1885 near Minnedosa, Manitoba. He attended Wesley College, where he prepared for missionary work in China. He won a Rhodes scholarship and studied at Oxford University, where he obtained both his BA (1908) and MA (1912). He returned to Wesley College as a lecturer in classics and mathematics. In 1914, he went to Poland as a particular worker for the World Students' Christian Federation. While there, Rose became keenly interested in Poland's history and culture. When World War I began, he was in Austrian Silesia, detained as an enemy alien. Between 1920 and 1927, he served as a relief worker in Poland with the YMCA. He also completed his Ph.D. at the University of Krakow (1926). After teaching at Dartmouth College, Rose accepted a position as a Polish reader at the University of London and quickly rose to become head of the School of Slavonic Studies (1939-1950). Although retiring in 1950, Rose remained very active. He helped establish the Department of Slavonic Studies at the University of British Columbia, served as a special lecturer there from 1951 to 1954, and in 1956 was named Professor Emeritus of Slavonic Studies. After leaving UBC, he moved to Naramata, B.C., where he served on the Christian Leadership Training School staff, also known as the Naramata Centre. He died in 1968.