Alexander Bannerman Warburton (April 5, 1852 – January 14, 1929) was a politician, jurist and author, who served as the seventh

premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Dennis King, from the Progressive Conservative Party. See also ...

, Canada. Alexander was born in Summerside, the son of James Warburton, who was a member of the provincial assembly. Named after Lieut. Governor, Sir

Alexander Bannerman Sir Alexander Bannerman (7 October 1788 – 30 December 1864) was a Scottish merchant, vintner, politician and British colonial governor. Early life Known as "Sandy", he was born on 7 October 1788 in Scotland. He was the eldest son of merchant ...

, he was educated in Summerside, at

St. Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference a ...

, King's College in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He was called to the bar in 1879. He was a director for the ''Patriot'' Publishing Company and the Eastern Assurance Company of Canada. Warburton was first elected to the province's

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

in 1891 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 ...

, and was re-elected in 1893 and 1897. He became premier of the province on October 27, 1897, when his predecessor resigned to move 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, ...

. Warburton only served in the position for eight months until resigning in June 1898 to accept a judicial appointment. In the 1908 federal election, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP), but lost his seat in the 1911 election that defeated the Laurier Liberals. He attempted to return to the House but was again defeated in the 1917 election. In 1920, Warburton returned to the bench as a judge on

probate court A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as Orphans' Courts o ...

and held that position until his death. Warburton wrote two books on the history of the island, ''Prince Edward Island, Past and Present'' in 1905, and ''A History of Prince Edward Island'' which was published posthumously in 1923. Prior to entering politics, Warburton started a movement to beautify Charlottetown which resulting in the planting of more than 800 trees along main thoroughfares and in public squares, many of which stand to this day.

References

*
''The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1891'', JA Gemmill''Past and Present of Prince Edward Island ...'', DA MacKinnon & AB Warburton (1906)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warburton, Alexander 1852 births 1929 deaths Politicians from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Canadian Anglicans Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Prince Edward Island Premiers of Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Prince Edward Island Liberal Party leaders