Robenson was born in Kalimpong, British India (modern-day India), to English parents, Spencer Robinson and Hannah Rodda. After Spencer Robinson’s death, his mother remarried a Muslim man and converted to Islam; her children’s names were subsequently changed to Islamic names. Robenson moved to Istanbul with his mother and stepfather in 1891. He lived in Istanbul until 1929, then emigrated to the United States, where he died in New York in 1968. His brothers, Yakup and Abdurrahman, were killed in action in
World War I whilst fighting for the Ottomans against the British in the Sinai front. After graduating from
Galatasaray High School, Robenson was interested in new sports which were not recognized in his country at the time. He is known as being the first organizer of
basketball,
hockey,
tennis, and
scouting activities in his time. He introduced these new sports to his students in Galatasaray High School. Robenson also served the goalkeeper of the
Galatasaray football team, and later became its president in 1926. ==Scouting==