Albert Norton Richards
Encyclopedia
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(December 8, 1821 – March 6, 1897) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
lawyer and political figure. He represented Leeds South
Leeds South
Leeds South was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1904. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Leeds into two ridings: a north riding and a south riding...
in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
member from 1872 to 1874. He served as the second Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia is the viceregal representative in British Columbia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared with equally the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest...
from 1876 to 1881.
He was born in Brockville
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...
in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
in 1821, the son of Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He studied law with his brother William Buell Richards
William Buell Richards
Sir William Buell Richards, PC, Kt was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.Richards was born in Brockville, Upper Canada to Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He earned law degree at the St. Lawrence Academy in Potsdam, New York and then articled with his uncle Andrew Norton...
and was called to the bar in 1848. Richards practised law in Brockville and in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. He was one of the founders of what is now the Vancouver-based law firm of Richards Buell Sutton.
In 1863, he was named Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
. He was elected to the 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada
8th Parliament of the Province of Canada
The 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada was in session from 1863 to July 1866. Elections were held in the Province of Canada in August 1863. Sessions were held in Quebec City until 1866; the last session was held in Ottawa....
in 1863, but was defeated in 1864 when he accepted the post of Solicitor General for Canada West and so was required to run again for the same seat. In 1867, he was narrowly defeated by John Willoughby Crawford
John Willoughby Crawford
John Willoughby Crawford QC served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 1873 to 1875.Born in 1817 in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, Ireland, the son of George Crawford, John Crawford came to Canada as a child when his family settled in Brockville, Ontario. He married Helen...
in Leeds South but was elected in 1872. In 1869, he was named Attorney General in the provisional government of the Northwest but was turned back by the rebels at Pembina
Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba
The Pembina Valley is the name given to the south-central region of the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is named for its major geographical feature - the Pembina Valley which runs through the southwestern part of the region....
. In 1874, he moved to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. On June 27, 1876, he was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor there. After his term in this office, he returned to Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
for three years, then went back to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
where he practised law, dying in Victoria in 1897.
Richards was married twice: to Frances Chaffey in 1849 and to Ellen Chaffey Chislett in 1854.
Richards Street in Vancouver is named after him.