Horatio Clarence Hocken (October 12, 1857 – February 18, 1937) was a

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politician,

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, social reformer, a founder of what became the ''

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'' and Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of British America from 1914-1918. Born in

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in what was pre- Confederation

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, Hocken had a media career as a printer, publisher and journalist. After working as a typesetter at the ''

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'' at which he led a strike, Hocken, in 1892, Hocken was a foremen in the print room of the ''Toronto News'' when the Typographical Union went on strike. He and 20 other strikers founded the '' Evening Star'' as a strike paper with Hocken as the new paper's business manager. He subsequently left the ''Star'' and returned to the ''News'' where he became city editor. In 1905 he purchased ''The Orange Sentinel'', a weekly newspaper serving supporters of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

Local politics

He served on the

Toronto Board of Control The Board of Control of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a part of its municipal government until it was abolished in 1969. It served as the executive committee of the Toronto City Council. When it was initially created in 1896 by mandate of the provin ...

from 1907 until 1910 when he made his first unsuccessful bid for the mayor's office and again from 1911 until 1912. He served as mayor from 1912 to 1914. He is credited with approving the Bloor Viaduct. As mayor, Hocken supported opening city parks to public use rather than being restricted to the use of athletic societies arguing that parks are for "walking in, not for athletic sports". He built public baths, installed a sewage treatment plant and a filtration plant, and the extension of the sewer system. Hocken's term also saw the distribution of free milk to children living in slums and the establishment of a public health nursing program. His reforms saw the death rate from communicable disease drop from 114 per 100,000 to 27 per 100,000. Hocken also supported the creation of a public housing company that built houses and rented them for cost. The city, under his stewardship, also purchased an abattoir and cold storage facility to help keep small butchers from being driven out of business by "the great meat trust."

Federal politics

Hocken's career in federal politics began when he was elected to the

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for the Unionist Party at the

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riding in the 1917 federal election. He was re-elected in Toronto West in the 1921 federal election, this time under the Conservative Party. When the riding boundaries were changed in 1924, he was re-elected in the Toronto West Centre riding in the

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and 1926 federal elections. He served in the 13th to the 16th Canadian Parliaments consecutively until he left federal politics in 1930. Hocken was appointed a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

from 30 December 1933 and remained in that office until death.

Personal life

He married Isabella Page in 1880. They had four children. He died two days after she did.

References

External links

* *http://canadianorangehistoricalsite.com/Hocken.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Hocken, Horatio Clarence 1857 births 1937 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Mayors of Toronto Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Unionist Party (Canada) MPs Social reformers