Robinson College was founded after the British philanthropist David Robinson offered the university £17 million to establish a new college in Cambridge: this is still one of the largest donations ever accepted by the university. Robinson later gave his college another £1 million, on the occasion of its official opening. The first graduate students and fellows joined the college in 1977. Undergraduates (20 of them) were admitted in 1979, but significant numbers only began arriving the following year. The college was formally opened by The Queen in May 1981.