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Harry Corwin Nixon, politician, premier of Ontario (b at St George, Ont 1 Apr 1891; d there 22 Oct 1961). He won acclaim for his political longevity, spending 42 years as an Ontario MPP.
Elected among the United Farmers of Ontario in 1919, he eventually led that group's remnant into farmer Mitchell Hepburn's revitalized Liberal Party and to the first Liberal victory in a quarter century (1934). Throughout Hepburn's regime, Provincial Secretary Nixon's stability helped balance the premier's mercurial temperament and after "Mitch" and his chosen successor, Gordon D. Conant, resigned, the party chose Nixon as leader and thus premier (May 1943). An election followed 3 months later, and voters ousted the Liberals. Nixon continued to represent his rural constituency until his death.
