Byron Moffatt Britton (September 3, 1833 – November 19, 1920) was a Canadian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, lawyer and lecturer. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

election to represent the riding of Kingston. He was re-elected in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

. The son of Daniel Britton and Nancy Moffatt, both

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

s who had come to Upper Canada, he was educated at Victoria University in Cobourg, studied law in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and Belleville and was called to the bar in 1859. Britton set up practice in Kingston. In 1875, he was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

. He was Crown Attorney for Frontenac county from 1883 to 1891. Britton also served on the board of governors for Kingston General Hospital. In 1863, he married Mary E., the daughter of Luther Hamilton Holton. Prior to his federal experience, he was a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, then

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

(1876–1877). He was appointed Judge of the Court of King's Bench for Ontario on September 24, 1901. Britton presided over the 1911

Angelina Napolitano Angelina Napolitano (1882–1932) was an Immigration to Canada, immigrant to Canada who murdered her intimate partner violence, abusive husband in 1911, igniting a public debate about domestic violence and the Capital punishment, death penalty.Plat ...

case.

References

1833 births 1920 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Mayors of Kingston, Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Judges in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel {{Ontario-mayor-stub