Robin James Wilson (5 December 1943 — 1 September 2026) was an English mathematician. He was an emeritus professor in the Department of Mathematics at the Open University, having previously been head of the Pure Mathematics Department and dean of the Faculty. He was a stipendiary lecturer at Pembroke College, Oxford and, from 2004 to 2008, Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London. On occasion, he taught at Colorado College in the United States. He is also a long standing fellow of Keble College, Oxford.
Professor Wilson is a son of former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his wife, Mary.
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Early life and education
Wilson was born in 1943 to the politician Harold Wilson, who later became Prime Minister, and his wife the poet Mary Wilson (née Baldwin). He has a younger brother, Giles, who in his 50s gave up a career as a teacher to be a train driver. Wilson attended University College School in Hampstead, North London. He achieved a BA first class honours in Mathematics from Balliol College, Oxford, an MA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (1965–1968). In a Guardian interview in 2008, Wilson spoke of the fact he grew up known to everyone primarily as a son of the Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Harold Wilson: "I hated the attention and I still dislike being introduced as Harold Wilson's son. I feel uncomfortable talking about it to strangers even now."
