Thomas Thain was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born merchant and political figure in Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

. He represented Montreal East in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...

 from 1820 to 1824.

Nephew of John Richardson

John Richardson (businessman)

John Richardson, , was born in Scotland, the son of Thomas Richardson, merchant in Portsoy and his first wife Helen Stewart of Towiemore and by 1774 was working for Phyn & Ellice, a Scottish fur trading company out of Schenectady, New York...

, he served as a clerk with the XY Company and became a partner in McTavish, McGillivrays and Company in 1814. In 1811, he was named a lieutenant in the Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 militia and served during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. Thain was an early shareholder and director of the Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...

 and served as vice-president from 1822 to 1825. He was a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal. Thain was also a commissioner for the construction of the Lachine Canal

Lachine Canal

The Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.The canal gets its name from the French word for China...

. He travelled to Scotland for a visit in 1825, planning to seek medical care and visit his family. He suffered an attack of "brain fever" there and was confined to an asylum in Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

in 1826, where he died six years later. He is buried in Forgue Kirkyard, Aberdeenshire.