Albert Norton Richards, (December 8, 1821 – March 6, 1897) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lawyer and political figure. He represented Leeds South in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member from 1872 to 1874. He served as the

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

from 1876 to 1881. He was born in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in 1821, the son of Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He studied law with his brother

William Buell Richards Sir William Buell Richards (May 2, 1815 – January 26, 1889) was the first Chief Justice of Canada. Richards was born in Brockville, Upper Canada, to Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He earned law degree at the St. Lawrence Academy in Po ...

and was called to the bar in 1848.''History of Leeds and Grenville'', TWH Leavitt (1879)
Richards practised law in Brockville and in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. He was one of the founders of what is now the Vancouver-based law firm o
Richards Buell Sutton
In 1863, he was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. He was elected to the

8th Parliament of the Province of Canada The 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada was in session from August 1863 to August 1866. Elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in the Province of Canada in August 1863. The first session sat from 13 August 1863 to 15 October 1863. Se ...

in 1863, but was defeated in 1864 when he accepted the post of Solicitor General for

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

and so was required to run again for the same seat. In 1867, he was narrowly defeated by

John Willoughby Crawford John Willoughby Crawford (26 August 1817 – 13 May 1875) served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 1873 to 1875. Born in 1817 in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, Ireland, the son of George Crawford, John Crawford came to ...

in Leeds South but was elected in 1872. In 1869, he was named Attorney General in the provisional government of the Northwest but was turned back by the rebels at Pembina. In 1874, he moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. On June 27, 1876, he was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor there. After his term in this office, he returned to

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

for three years, then went back to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

where he practised law, dying in Victoria in 1897. Richards was married twice: to Frances Chaffey in 1849 and to Ellen Chaffey Chislett in 1854. The painter Frances Richards (1852–1934) was his daughter from his first marriage. Richards Street in Vancouver is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Albert Norton 1821 births 1897 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia People from Brockville Lawyers in British Columbia Canadian King's Counsel