John Munn (12 March 1788 – 20 March 1859) was a Scottish-born shipbuilder and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was born in

Irvine, Scotland Irvine ( ; sco, Irvin,
gd, Irbhinn, IPA: Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

in 1801, where he began his career as a shipbuilder. In 1814, he went to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, where he manufactured ships for the government. He set up his own shipbuilding business at Quebec in 1815. Many of the ships that he built were transported to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

for sale. Munn, well known as a

master craftsman Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries. In the European guild system, only mas ...

, also trained a number of shipbuilders. He also helped found Queen's College at Kingston. In 1837, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

for the Lower Town of Quebec in a by-election held after

George Vanfelson George Vanfelson, (April 23, 1784 – February 16, 1856) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and t ...

resigned his seat. He served on the city council for Quebec from 1840–1842. In 1845 and 1846, he built

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s for the People's Line of Steamers; when this company was unable to pay, Munn was forced to take back ownership of the ships. Because he had borrowed heavily from the

Bank of British North America The Bank of British North America was founded by Royal Charter issued in 1836 in London, England with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, New Brunswick, Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland. It was the first bank operating in B ...

to finance their construction, this left Munn in a bad financial position and he was later forced to sell his shipyard and other properties. He died at Quebec in 1859, where a small park bear his name in the

Saint-Roch Saint-Roch may refer to: In Canada: *Saint-Roch, Quebec City, a neighbourhood of Quebec City *Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, a municipality *Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac, Quebec, a municipality *Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu, Quebec, a municipality *Saint-Ro ...

neighbourhood. It contains a sculpture that represents a ship and is called ''Le roi du fleuve'' (King of the River), John Munn's nick-name. Munn was buried in

Mount Hermon Cemetery Mount Hermon Cemetery is a garden (or rural) cemetery and National Historic Site of Canada. It is located in the Sillery district (french: quartier) of the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough (french: arrondissement) of Quebec City, Quebec, ...

in Sillery.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Munn, John 1788 births 1859 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada People from Irvine, North Ayrshire People from Quebec City Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Immigrants to Lower Canada Burials at Mount Hermon Cemetery

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