Memorable Manitobans: Robert Lorne Richardson (1860-1921)

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Robert Lorne Richardson
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Journalist, MP (1896-1900), MP (1900-1904), MP (1917-1921).

Born at Balderson, Lanark County, Ontario on 28 June 1860, son of Joseph and Harriet Richardson, he was educated at Balderson public school. He commenced business as a reporter with the Montreal Star in 1878, and joined the Toronto Globe in 1880.

He came to Winnipeg in 1882 and participated in the establishment of the Winnipeg Sun, serving as its City Editor. The paper was merged into the Manitoba Free Press in December 1889. In partnership with Duncan Lloyd McIntyre, in January 1890 he established the Winnipeg Tribune, using the former building and press equipment of the now-defunct Sun, and was its Publisher.

He was elected to the House of Commons in 1896 and was reelected in 1900. His bids for re-election in 1902 and 1904 were unsuccessful. He was a Liberal candidate for the Killarney constituency in the 1907 provincial general election and for the Macdonald constituency in a 1912 federal by-election. He was elected to Parliament in 1917, as a Conscriptionist for Springfield.

On 11 March 1885, he married Clara Jane Mallory (1862-1931) of Mallorytown, Ontario with whom he had five daughters: Hazel Geraldine Richardson (1886-?, wife of Kenneth Clark MacPherson), Gwendoline Richardson (1888-?, wife of Percy Boyce), Sharmion Emily Richardson (1890-?, wife of George Ernest Murray), Irma Richardson (1895-?, wife of Murray Jones), and Dorothy Richardson (1903-?, wife of James Harcourt Vernon). He published two novels, Colin of the Ninth Concession (1903) and The Camerons of Bruce (1905).

He died at Winnipeg on 6 November 1921 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery. He is commemorated by Richardson Avenue in Winnipeg.

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 and 1906 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.

A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.

The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.

“R. L. Richardson for Killarney,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 February 1907, page 1.

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.

“Widow of R. L. Richardson dies; invalid many years,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 July 1931, page 3.

The Canadian Directory of Parliament, 1867-1967, edited by J. K. Johnson, Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa [Library and Archives Canada], 1968.

“To hell with Afghanistan” by Marjorie Earl in Torch on the Prairies: A Portrait of Journalism in Manitoba, 1859-1988, The Nor-Westers, 1988, page 36.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 February 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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