Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Howard (1845-1903)

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Thomas Howard
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MLA (1871-1874), MLA (1875-1878).

Born at Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario) in 1845, son of Dr. Henry and Charlotte Alicia Howard, brother of Rice Meredith Howard, he was educated in Montreal, and came to Manitoba with the Red River Expeditionary Force under Colonel Garnet Wolseley in 1869, with the rank of Captain and Paymaster. He remained in Manitoba, and became actively engaged in the public life of the Settlement.

In December 1870, he was elected to represent the Constituency of St. Peters in the first general election, was appointed Minister of Agriculture in 1871, and held the positions of Minister of Public Works, Provincial Secretary, and Provincial Treasurer. He was re-elected in December 1874 to represent the Constituency of St. Clement’s and sat as a private member until 1878. He was a participant in the December 1878 ceremony to mark the opening of the first railway to Winnipeg. He was Secretary of the Board of Health for Manitoba and the North-West Territories, was a director of the Manitoba and Northwestern Railway, and a charter member of the Manitoba Club. In 1873, he was one of the founders of the Winnipeg Board of Trade.

Howard later moved to Victoria, British Columbia. On 18 July 1903, he was murdered under suspicious circumstances while on a visit to San Francisco, California. He is commemorated by Howard Avenue in Winnipeg.

Sources:

“Thomas Howard brutally killed,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 July 1903, page 3.

“Missing deeds to mines add to Berkeley mystery,” San Francisco Call, 26 July 1903, page 22.

Pioneers and Early Citizens of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Manitoba Library Association, 1971.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 October 2023

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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