Charles Rennie Bowring (October 7, 1839 – January 31, 1890) was a merchant and politician born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Bowring was born at St. John's to Charles Tricks Bowring and Harriet Harvey and was the grandson of

Benjamin Bowring Benjamin Bowring (baptised 17 May 1778 – 1 June 1846) was an English watchmaker, jeweller, and businessman. He was the founder, in 1811, of the Bowring trading, shipping and insurance businesses, later known as Bowring Brothers in Canada and the ...

who had established

Bowring Brothers Bowring Brothers Ltd. (or simply Bowring) was a Canadian operator of retail stores, mostly focused on gifts and home decor, throughout Canada. History Bowring was formed in 1811 as a private company by Benjamin Bowring and his family, who had j ...

, to be one of the largest steamship companies in Newfoundland. Charles' father was also a prominent businessman in Newfoundland. Whilst an infant, his family moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he was educated and raised as a Unitarian. He was a

junior partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as "equity partners". The ...

of Bowring Brothers in Liverpool until he moved back to Newfoundland to become manager of the operation there. Bowring Brothers, under Bowring's direction, became one of the leading firms in the seal and cod fisheries and in the transportation of foodstuff to the coastal communities. In 1876 the company was awarded the Newfoundland government's mail contract. These operations had taken them to a fleet of vessels numbering 57 sailing and steam vessels. Among all of its other ventures they also acted as the Newfoundland agent for several shipping and insurance companies, including

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

from 1866. In 1884 the firm established the Red Cross Line, a passenger and freight service. Around 1869, he married Laura, the daughter of John Henry Warren. In 1873, Bowring had been elected as a Conservative to the

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 governme ...

for the district of

Bonavista Bay Bonavista Bay (BB) is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is demarcated by Ca ...

, and was re-elected the next year following the defeat of the anti-confederate government led by

Charles Fox Bennett Charles James Fox Bennett (11 June 1793 in Shaftesbury, England – 5 December 1883) was a merchant and politician who successfully fought attempts to take Newfoundland into Canadian confederation. Bennett was a successful businessman and o ...

. In 1886, Bowring was appointed to the Legislative Council by Prime Minister Robert Thorburn. He consistently opposed the incorporation of the city of St. John's when it came before the council and in 1886 he refused to support a bill to provide a sewage system for the city proposed by the government. Bowring was a director of the

Commercial Bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

in St. John's, a member of the St. John's

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

, chairman of the St. John's Gas Light Company, and one of the largest shareholders in the Atlantic Hotel and a prominent member and president of the Athenaeum Society. He was also actively involved in the completion of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a project undertaken in 1880.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowring, Charles R. 1839 births 1890 deaths Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland Colony people Members of the Legislative Council of Newfoundland Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Canadian merchants Bowring Brothers