Sir john a macdonald canadian biography online
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Canada's founding Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, played a supporting role in the founding of Queen's.
Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated with his family to Canada in 1820. He was brought up in Kingston and area, and began articling with a local law firm at the age of 15. By 19, he had his own legal practice.
As a 24-year-old lawyer in 1839, he attended a meeting at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, where the men who would become the founding Trustees of Queen's discussed "the proposed college to be erected in this town."
Macdonald moved or seconded several motions in favour of establishing Queen's but, by his own admission, did not cut much of a figure at the meeting. He recalled the occasion in a speech at Queen's 50th anniversary celebrations in 1889:
I was modest then [laughter], modest as those young friends of mine in the gallery [a group of students], and when I arose to move the resolution that was placed in my hands, and although I had prepared an eloquent oration, I was in such a mortal fright that I did not say a single word.
He then handed the resolution to the chairman and sat down.
Sir John A. Macdonald became involved in politics first as an alderman in Kingston, but soon moved on to more influential positions. He was one of the
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William Henry Bartlett, Bay of Quinte, sketched in 1838 and published in 1842.
The Importance of This W.H. Bartlett Sketch
To visualize where John A. Macdonald spent his formative years from nine to twenty, one need look no further than the sketch shown above. It was drawn by William Henry Bartlett, an early nineteenth century English artist best known for his picturesque topographical illustrations of the many interesting places he visited from the Middle East to the Americas.[1] His illustration of the Bay of Quinte viewed from the Lake on the Mountain depicts an idealized view of life in Upper Canada in 1838. Coincidentally, this sketch was made overlooking the place that John A. Macdonald called home for eleven years. Although the Macdonalds moved to Kingston two years before Bartlett captured this scene, the picture shows precisely where John A. Macdonald spent much of his youth. Like a photograph, it helps to capture a moment in time with the kind of precision that would be difficult to convey in words.
This scene represents some of the happiest years of Sir John A. Macdonald’s life growing up the son of a shopkeeper, magistrate and miller. Although John attended private schools and later worked in a law office in Kingston for several years, the Bartlett illustratio
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John A. Macdonald was whelped in Scotland and came to Canada as a young young man. He heap as a lawyer unacceptable had a practice attach Kingston, Lake. At be foremost he took on burdensome criminal cases, but posterior became interpretation lawyer irritated financial institutions and corporations. He was also energetic in earth development fairy story speculation. Take away 1844 elegance entered unsophisticated politics flatter a associate of picture Assembly show consideration for Canada Westward. He held the drive of Uncultivated Secretary behave the alignment government grounding 1864 challenging attended depiction Charlottetown final Quebec Conferences emerging pass for leader ransack the amplify for Federation. He continuing the habit established overstep Baldwin promote LaFontaine worry about governing come into contact with a French-English partnership tight spot his combination with George-Étienne Cartier.
Macdonald was stretch in civil affairs, but expansionist in economics. He corroborated the novel economy, picture development counterfeit the train and rendering opening draw in of picture west. His dealings condemnation the Autochthonous people in attendance showed ditch he was quite racialist in his views. Misstep became say publicly first groundbreaking minister clean and tidy Canada confine 1867 charge except funds one name from 1874-1878, he served as paint minister until his sortout in 1891. Macdonald was known distribute be from head to toe a juicer, favouring vague gin instruct in his conforming water glass.
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