Richard Robinson, the man who infused reading habits in young readers across the globe through bestsellers like J. K Rowling’s “Harry Potter” and other educational reading materials, breathed his last at the age of 84.
He was the longtime head of Scholastic Inc., which used to organize numerous book fairs and reading clubs around the world.
Richard Robinson was reportedly in good health and his cause of death has not been made public. The publishing giant announced his sad demise on Saturday by stating that Scholastic is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Dick Richard Robinson.
The scholastic board of directors released an official statement stating “Dick was a true visionary in the world of children’s books and an unrelenting advocate for children’s literacy and education with a remarkable passion his entire life”
Scholastic Inc. is considered the world’s largest publisher of children’s books and they claim to distribute 1 out of every 3 children’s books in the US. The company is a publicly traded company with a net worth of almost $1.2 billion. It suffered a blow of around $800 million because of the pandemic but is gradually gaining back momentum to ride with the flow.
Scholastics is the proud publisher of the Harry Potter series along with other giant bestsellers such as The Hunger Games, Clifford the big red dog by Norman Ridwell, and Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants.
Richard Robinson was a Pittsburgh native who graduated from Harvard College and took over the reign of scholastic which was initiated by his father Maurice R. Robinson as a classroom magazine back in 1920. Robinson was named as the President in 1974, later on becoming a board chair in 1982.
Robinson was a true entrepreneur who made Scholastic cross borders for expansion. He saw many ups and downs before the humongous success of Harry Potter books. He ignited the thirst for book reading among young readers amidst the rise of digital and social media. He emphasized the diversity and the knowledge which is gained through books throughout his life while advocating the need for reading.
Richard Robinson was also a member of The Association of Educational Publisher Hall of Fame. He received an honorary national book award for his huge contributions to literacy. Richardson shared a beautiful bond with J.K Rowling over the years which only grew strong
The world of literature lost one of the biggest gems whose loss is irreplaceable.
