The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Robins, Thomas

ROBINS, Thomas, American inventor and manufacturer: b. West Point, N. Y., 1 Sept. 1868. He was educated at Princeton University and in 1892 began a series of inventions which led to the perfection of his &lsquo;belt conveyor&rsquo; used for carrying coal, ores and other products. The invention received the grand prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and first prizes at the Buffalo and Saint Louis Expositions. He is president of the Robins Conveying Belt Company and of the Robins New Conveyor Company. In 1915 he was appointed to the United States Naval Advisory Board.