James O'Brien (August 3, 1836 – May 28, 1903) 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 ...

merchant, wholesaler, and politician. Born in Aughnagar,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, O'Brien was educated there and moved to British North America in 1850. In 1858, he started business in the wholesale clothing and dry goods trade in Montreal. He retired from that business in 1893. He was a director of the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, the Royal Victoria Life Insurance Company, and also a member of the Board of Trade. He was a Life Governor of the Montreal General Hospital, of the Western and Notre Dame Hospitals, and a trustee of St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, and a Governor of Université Laval. He was one of the founders of the Dominion Commercial Travellers' Association. He was appointed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

representing the senatorial division of Victoria, Quebec on the advice of

Mackenzie Bowell Sir Mackenzie Bowell (; December 27, 1823 – December 10, 1917) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and politician, who served as the fifth prime minister of Canada, in office from 1894 to 1896. Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, En ...

on January 2, 1896. A

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

, he served 7 years until his death in 1903.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, James 1836 births 1903 deaths Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Politicians from County Tyrone Immigrants to the Province of Canada