 In the 1940s, Robinson was among the first to warn against the dangers of DDT use in agriculture.After Robinson's birth in Bellevue, Ohio and while still a toddler, his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri where Robinson's father, Bradbury Norton Robinson, Sr. (1842–1925), became general baggage agent for the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad.The senior Robinson spent most of his adult life working for railroads.