John Hampden Burnham (born October 14, 1860 in Peterborough, Canada West-died April 25, 1940) was a

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, a ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. He was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a Member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the election of

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

to represent the riding of Peterborough West after being defeated in the election of

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

. Between 1916 and 1918, Burnham served overseas as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the 93rd Battalion of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

. He was also the

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of ''Canadians in the Imperial Naval and Military Service Abroad''. He was re-elected in the

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

election as a Unionist. Burham quit the government party on July 15, 1920 to sit as an Independent Conservative in protest of

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen (; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and fro ...

's attempt to make the Unionist government which had been formed during the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

as a coalition of Conservatives and pro-conscription Liberals into a permanent political party, called the

National Liberal and Conservative Party The National Liberal and Conservative Party was the name adopted by the Conservative Party of Canada in 1920 after the end of the Unionist government of Robert Borden. The Conservatives, led by Arthur Meighen, adopted the name in the hope of makin ...

. Several months later he resigned his seat in the House of Commons and ran for re-election as an Independent Conservative in a February 7, 1921 by-election in hopes of demonstrating that public opinion supported him. Burham argued that the Meighen government "is the creature of some big schemes now floating in the air and I believe it is a positive danger to Canada... I am unalterably opposed to this combination at Ottawa and will never rest until I see those who are attempting to wreck the old parties, whose backing and policies are known and understood, are themselves wrecked.""That O'Connor Story Is Called Bunkum", ''Toronto Daily Star'', December 29, 1920 He lost the by-election and ran again as a straight Conservative in the 1921 general election in December but was again defeated. With the defeat of the Meighen government, Burnham called upon the party to hold a national

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...

, abandon the "National Liberal and Conservative Party" concept and return to its old Conservative form."Wants New Convention", ''Toronto Daily Star'', December 7, 1921

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, John Hampden 1860 births 1940 deaths Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Unionist Party (Canada) MPs People from Peterborough, Ontario Canadian Expeditionary Force officers