He was the son of John Robinson of Calcutta, who died at the
Cape of Good Hope in 1779, and Margaret, daughter of George Leslie of Kimrawgie,
North Britain. He joined the East India Company in 1779 as a cadet and was successively promoted to ensign, Commissary-General (1786), Aide-de-Camp to
Lord Cornwallis (Governor-General of Bengal) (1788), Head Assistant in the Military Auditor-General's office (1788–92), Garrison Storekeeper at Fort William and Secretary to the Military Board, captain (1798) and Military Auditor-General (1798). He retired in 1802 and served as Private Secretary to Cornwallis from July to October, 1805. He was also a director of the Globe Insurance Company. He was elected as the MP for
Honiton in 1812 (until 1818). The title became extinct in 1944 on the death of Sir Douglas Robinson, 6th Baronet. He died on 13February 1832 at his son William Scott Robinson's house in
Dyrham, after a long illness. His wife Margaret predeceased him on 21May 1824. ==Family==