Round-robin (document)

For the letter that traditionally accompanies a Christmas card, see Round-robin letter.

Round-robin is a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified.[1]

Origin

Jessé de Forest's Round Robin from 1621

The term dates from the 17th-century French ruban rond (round ribbon).[2][3] This described the practice of signatories to petitions against authority (usually Government officials petitioning the Crown) appending their names on a document in a non-hierarchical circle or ribbon pattern (and so disguising the order in which they have signed) so that none may be identified as a ringleader.

This practice was adopted by sailors petitioning officers in the Royal Navy (first recorded 1731).

Spanish–American War

A round robin letter was authored in Cuba after the cessation of hostilities in 1898 by a committee of 10 brigade commanders of the American Army's V Corps including acting brigade commander Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish–American War. This letter was leaked to the press and embarrassed the administration of US President William McKinley to accelerate the departure of the American Army back to the United States during the rainy disease-plagued summer season.

References

  1. ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary: Round Robin
  2. ↑ Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable: Round Robin
  3. ↑ Re: Round Robin, Oxford English Dictionary cited at The Phrase Finder, September 29, 2002


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