Sir John Stephen Willison, FRSC (November 9, 1856 – May 27, 1927) 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 ...

newspaperman, author, and businessman. Born near Hills Green, Huron County,

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, the son of Stephen Willison, a blacksmith, and Jane Abram, Willison left school at the age of 15. After working as an assistant teacher and a clerk, he started working in journalism with the ''London Advertiser'' in 1881 and then with the ''

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'' in 1883. In 1886, he reported from the

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. While in Ottawa he became friends with future

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Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

. In 1890, Willison was appointed editor of the ''Globe''. In 1900, he was elected president of the

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Association and became a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

. In 1903, his book ''Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberal party: a political history'' was published. In 1902, he left the Globe and went to work at ''The Toronto Evening News''. In 1908, he was appointed the Canadian correspondent of the British newspaper ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. In 1919, his memoir ''Reminiscences, political and personal'' was published. In 1913, he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. He died in Toronto in 1927.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willison, John 1856 births 1927 deaths Canadian journalists Canadian Knights Bachelor 20th-century Canadian memoirists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada People from Huron County, Ontario The Times people Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 19th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian journalists

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