Browse "Politics & Law"

John Matthews, army officer, farmer, politician (b probably in Eng c 1763; d probably in Eng 20 Aug 1832).

Governor George SIMPSON, concerned about the Columbia District, put McLoughlin in charge when he visited it in 1824-25, and McLoughlin was its superintendent for 2 decades.

John Mercer Johnson, lawyer, politician (born October 1818 in Liverpool, England; died 8 November 1868 in Chatham, NB).

John Neilson, newspaperman, publisher, editor, politician (born 17 July 1776 in Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland; died 1 February 1848 in Québec City, Canada East). A staunch moderate, John Neilson supported a greater balance of power in the colony. Sympathetic to French-Canadians, he was a deputy with the Parti canadien in the Legislative Assembly – which later became the Parti patriote – and broke away when the party radicalized in the 1830s. Though he opposed the party’s republican and nationalist policies, Neilson continued to fight for French-Canadians, heavily condemning the Union of the Canadas in 1841.

John Neilson. Publisher, politician, b Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, 17 Jul 1776, d Quebec City 1 Feb 1848.

Norquay successfully moved from the fur trade into modern business and politics after Manitoba entered Confederation (courtesy PAM). Norquay, John John Norquay, politician, premier of Manitoba, 1878-87 (b near St Andrews, Man 8 May 1841; d at Winnipeg 5 July 1889). One of Red River's most distinguished sons, Norquay successfully moved from the fur trade and the river lot into modern business and politics after Manitoba entered Confederation. His great-grandmother was an Indigenous woman and...

(Edward) John (Clavering) Oliver. Composer, guitarist, conductor, b Vancouver 21 Sep 1959; B MUS (British Columbia) 1982, M MUS (McGill) 1984, DMA (McGill) 1992.

John Parmenter Robarts, politician, premier of Ontario 1961-71 (b at Banff, Alta 11 Jan 1917; d at Toronto 18 Oct 1982). He moved to London, Ont, in 1931 and graduated from U of Western Ontario in 1939. After naval service in

In the 1972 and 1979 federal elections Savage ran unsuccessfully for the Liberals. He was elected to the Dartmouth School Board in 1978 and became its chairman in 1984. A self-styled social activist, he strongly advocated social issues and became a popular board member.

John Percy Page, educator, basketball coach, politician, lieutenant-governor (b to Canadian parents at Rochester, NY 14 May 1887; d at Edmonton, Alta 2 Mar 1973).

John Thomas Peters Humphrey, OC, lawyer, diplomat, scholar (born 30 April 1905 in Hampton, NB; died 14 Mar 1995 in Montreal, QC). John Humphrey was the director of the United Nations Human Rights Division from 1946 to 1966. He was instrumental in drafting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. He also taught law and briefly served as dean at McGill University. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1974 and received the United Nations Prize for human rights advocacy in 1988.

John Reginald Birchall, murderer (b at Accrington, Eng 25 May 1866; d at Woodstock, Ont 14 Nov 1890). Birchall, a confidence man, gambler and wastrel, lured 2 young Englishmen, Douglas Pelly and Frederick C. Benwell, into a partnership with him to purchase a farm near Woodstock, Ont.

John Robert Nicholson, lawyer, public servant, politician (b at Newcastle, NB 1 Dec 1901; d at Vancouver 8 Oct 1983). In 1941 Nicholson was called to Ottawa to the Department of Munitions and Supply by C.D. HOWE.

John Robson, journalist, politician, premier of BC 1889-92 (b at Perth, UC 14 or 15 Mar 1824; d at London, Eng 29 June 1892). Coming to BC in 1859, Robson established the New Westminster British Columbian in 1861. In 1869 he

John Rolph, barrister, physician, politician, educator (b at Thornbury, Eng 4 Mar 1793; d at Mitchell, Ont 19 Oct 1870). Educated in England, he practised law and medicine in Upper Canada from 1821, operating medical schools in 1824-25 in St Thomas and from 1832 in York [Toronto].