Joseph Thorarinn Thorson (1889-1978)

Lawyer, soldier, educator, MP (1926-1930), MP (1936-1940), MP (1940-1945).

Born at Winnipeg on 15 March 1889, son of Stefan Thorarinssson (Thorson) and Sigridur Thorarinsdottir, who came to Canada from Iceland in 1887, he was educated at Carleton School (Winnipeg), Winnipeg Collegiate, Manitoba College (BA, LLB), and New College Oxford (BA). He graduated in Classics (University of Manitoba Silver Medalist) in 1910, and was appointed a Rhodes Scholar for Manitoba that year. He attended Oxford University from 1910 to 1913, graduated in Jurisprudence in 1912. He was called to the Bar of Middle Temple (London) in 1913 and to the Manitoba Bar in 1913. He practised law in Winnipeg with the firm of McFaden and Thorson from 1913 to 1916 then with Campbell, Pitblado and Company from 1916 to 1919.

He married Alleen Scarth on 30 December 1916, with whom he had one daughter.

He served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Captain with the 223^rd Battalion (Scandinavian). He was attached to 3^rd Army Headquarters in France from November 1917 to January 1919, and the Commanding Officer of No. 4 Prisoners of War Company in France from 1919 to 1921.

After the war, he practised law in Winnipeg from 1927 to 1941. He served as a Professor with the Manitoba Law School from 1919 to 1941, and its Dean from 1921 to 1926. He was elected to the House of Commons for Winnipeg South Centre in 1926, defeated in 1930, re-elected in 1935 and 1940 for Selkirk. He was a Member of the Privy Council (1941), Minister of National War Service (1941 to 1942), and President of the Exchequer Court of Canada (1942 to 1964). He was appointed Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada in 1959, and President of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada in 1964. He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Manitoba in 1958.

He died on 5 July 1978.

Sources:

We thank Nelson Gerrard for providing additional information used in this profile.

Profile revised: 19 February 2010

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