William R. Howson
Encyclopedia
William Robinson Howson (March 6, 1883 - June 25, 1952) was an politician, judge, debt collector, soldier banker and real estate agent from Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada
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...

.. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...

 from 1930 to 1936 sitting with the Liberal caucus in opposition. He led the caucus and the party from 1932 to 1936.

Early life

William Robinson Howson was born in Norwood, 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....

 on March 6, 1883. He worked as a high school teacher in Mathers Corners and in 1906 became a bank manager for the Sovereign Bank of Stirling, and in 1908, the Bank of Montreal.

He moved to Alberta in 1910 and settled eventually settled in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

 after stints as a bill collector in Sedgewick, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and as a real estate agent in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

. He attended the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

, receiving a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1915 and a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 degree in 1916, where he was awarded the Gold Medal in Law upon graduation. He was admitted to the Law Society of Alberta
Law Society of Alberta
The Law Society of Alberta is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta, Canada.-Purpose:The Law Society is created and governed by the . As a law society, the Law Society is much more than a professional association and every lawyer who practices in Alberta must belong to it...

 on January 11, 1916.

He served with the Royal Canadian Army
Canadian Forces Land Force Command
The Canadian Army , previously called Land Force Command, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The current size of the Army is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers...

 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 from 1916 until the end of the war in 1918. He returned to the practice of law in Edmonton, becoming King's Counselor in 1935.

Political career

Howson ran for a seat to the Alberta legislature in the 1930 Alberta provincial election
Alberta general election, 1930
The Alberta general election of 1930 was the seventh general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 19, 1930 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

. He stood as a Liberal candidate in the Edmonton
Edmonton (provincial electoral district)
Edmonton provincial electoral district existed in two incarnations from 1905 - 1909 and again from 1921 - 1955. The district was created when Alberta first became a province....

 electoral district. He won the fourth place seat out of seven to earn his first term in the Legislature.

Howson became leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...

 in 1932 and led it in the 1935 provincial election
Alberta general election, 1935
The Alberta general election of 1935 was the eighth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 22, 1935 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

. The Liberal party despite having success prior to the election enticing two members to cross the floor ended up losing seven seats but keeping official opposition status. Howson held his seat finishing in the top three seats after obtaining the vote threshold on the first count.

Howson resigned his seat and as party leader a year later on March 2, 1936 after being appointed to replace John Boyle
John R. Boyle
John Robert Boyle was a Canadian politician and jurist who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, a cabinet minister in the Government of Alberta, and a judge on the Supreme Court of Alberta. Born in Ontario, he came west and eventually settled in Edmonton, where he practiced...

 on the supreme court.

Judicial career

Howson was appointed by the federal Liberal government to sit on the Alberta Supreme Court Trial Division
Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta is the superior court of the Canadian province of Alberta....

 in 1936, the Appellate Division
Court of Appeal of Alberta
The Court of Appeal of Alberta is an Canadian appellate court.-Jurisdiction and Hierarchy within Canadian Courts:The Court is the highest court in Alberta, Canada...

 in 1942, and became chief justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of the trial division in 1944 serving until his death in 1952. He presided over German prisoner of war trials in Medicine Hat.

External links

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