Joseph O'Connell Ryan was a Canadian politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 and editor

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

.

Born in Dunnville, Canada West

Dunnville, Ontario

Dunnville is an unincorporated community of 6,000 people located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, near the historic Talbot Trail...

, the son of John O'Connell and the former Miss Ryan, he was educated at Regiopolis College

Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School

Regiopolis - Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School is a secondary school located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada offering grades 9 to 12...

; he adopted his mother's surname. In 1868, he married Mary Helena Macmanamin. He was editor of the British American in Kingston

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

 in 1870. Ryan was called to the Ontario bar in 1869 and to the Manitoba bar in 1872. He practised law in Portage La Prairie.

He was elected to 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 Member of the Liberal Party

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...

 in an 1874 by-election to represent the riding

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of Marquette

Marquette (electoral district)

Marquette was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1871 to 1979.This riding was created in 1871 following the creation of the province of Manitoba in 1870....

 after losing the election

Canadian federal election, 1874

The Canadian federal election of 1874 was held on January 22, 1874, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 3rd Parliament of Canada. Sir John A...

 earlier that year to Robert Cunningham

Robert Cunningham (Canadian politician)

Robert Cunningham was a Canadian journalist and Member of Parliament.Cunningham was born in Stewarton, Scotland. He studied at Glasgow College and the University of London. Cunningham moved to Toronto, Canada in 1868 where he began work as a journalist...

. He was acclaimed in a by-election in 1878. From 1882 to 1916, Ryan was judge in the County Court for the Central Judicial District in Manitoba.

He died in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

at the age of 96.