John Sparrow David Thompson
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| Image:JohnSDThompson.jpg | |
| 4th Prime Minister of Canada | |
| Term of Office: | December 5, 1892 – December 12, 1894 |
| Predecessor: | John Joseph Caldwell Abbott |
| Successor: | Mackenzie Bowell |
| Date of Birth: | November 10, 1845 |
| Place of Birth: | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Spouse: | Annie Affleck |
| Profession: | lawyer |
| Political Party: | Conservative |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
The Right Honourable Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, PC , QC , KCMG (November 10, 1845 – December 12, 1894) was the fourth Prime Minister of Canada from December 5, 1892 to December 12, 1894 as well as Premier of Nova Scotia in 1882.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Thompson married Annie Affleck (1845-1913) in 1870 and with her had two sons and three daughters with four other children not surviving infancy. Like many Canadian leaders, he married a strong-willed wife — Annie Thompson had the same kind of spirit that had driven Agnes Macdonald to ride the cowcatcher of the CPR train through the British Columbia mountains. Her husband was a lawyer called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1865.
Thompson's family life was marred by tragedy. His daughter Annie died at one year of age, while youngest son David lived to be two. Two of Thompson's other children died at birth (the Thompsons had five children survive childhood).
From 1878 to 1882 John Thompson was Attorney General in the provincial government of Simon H. Holmes. He served briefly as Nova Scotia premier in 1882 but his government was defeated in that year's election. He was appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court after leaving the provincial legislature. When Sir John A. Macdonald recruited him to Ottawa in 1885, he quickly became a leading member of the Conservative government. His achievements included the first Criminal Code of Canada. His rise in government is probably due as much to the influence of Ishbel Aberdeen, the wife of the Governor General, as to MacDonald's mentoring.
The previous Prime Minister, Sir John Abbott, wanted to turn the prime ministership over to him, but religious prejudice against the Roman Catholic Thompson prevented this, and it was delayed until Abbott's retirement in 1892.
Sir John Thompson had been Prime Minister of Canada for only two years when he died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 49 on December 12, 1894, at Windsor Castle, where Queen Victoria had just made him a member of her Privy Council. He was the second of two Canadian prime ministers to die in office (the first was Sir John A. Macdonald), and the first of three who did not die in Canada. (The other two were Sir Charles Tupper and Richard Bedford Bennett.)
He was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia after an elaborate funeral in England staged by Queen Victoria.
Supreme Court Appointments
Thompson appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada:
- Sir Samuel Henry Strong (Chief Justice) - (December 13, 1892 - November 18, 1902) (appointed a Puisne Justice by Mackenzie in 1875)
- Robert Sedgewick - (February 18, 1893 - August 4, 1906)
- George Edwin King - (September 21, 1893 - May 8, 1901)
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Federal Political Biography from the Library of Parliament
| Preceded by: Sir John Abbott | Prime Minister of Canada 1892-1894 | Succeeded by: Sir Mackenzie Bowell |
| Federal Conservative Leaders | ||
| Preceded by: Simon H. Holmes | Premier of Nova Scotia 1882 | Succeeded by: William T. Pipes |
Categories: 1845 births | 1894 deaths | Canadian lawyers | Canadian Prime Ministers | Leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada | Nova Scotia premiers | Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Nova Scotia | Haligonians | Historical Members of the Canadian House of Commons | Members of the Privy Council
