Oscar Douglas Skelton (July 13, 1878 – January 28, 1941) was a
Canadian political economist and
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
. Skelton was a loyal member of the Liberal Party, an expert on international affairs, and a nationalist who encouraged Canadians to pursue autonomy from the British Empire, and to take on what he proclaimed was "the work of the world."
Early life and career
Born on July 13, 1878, in
Orangeville,
Ontario, Skelton went on to gain a scholarship to
Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to:
*Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
**Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950)
**Queen's University of Belfast ...
in 1896 and studied
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
. His education in classical languages helped him to pass the examinations for entry into Britain’s Indian Civil Service (ICS), but he failed the medical test. In 1899 he earned a
Master of Arts degree and audited classes of
Adam Shortt, a political scientist. He worked in Philadelphia for ''
The Booklover's Magazine
''Appleton's Magazine'' was an American magazine about books and literature. Founded by Seymour Eaton in 1903 as ''The Booklovers Magazine'', it was purchased by D. Appleton & Company in 1904. Its name was changed to ''Appleton's Booklovers Maga ...
'' and in 1904 married Isabel Murphy. He then took up the study of political economy at
University of Chicago and followed the lectures of
Thorstein Veblen, whom he admired for his "stock of science and of philosophy & of first hand knowledge of business affairs."
Skelton kept in touch with Shortt at his ''alma mater'' and was offered work there in 1907. Skelton earned his
doctorate in political economy from the University of Chicago in 1908. He was appointed to the John A. Macdonald Professorship of Political Science and Economics at Queen's University in 1909, which he held until 1925. He also served as the university's
Dean of Arts and as chair of their board of trustees.
He was the author of two books in the ''Chronicles of Canada'' series: ''The Day of Sir Wilfrid Laurier: A Chronicle of Our Own Times'' (1916) and ''The Railway Builders: A Chronicle of Overland Highways'' (1920).
Civil service career
Skelton later became
Under-Secretary of State for
External Affairs, replacing an aging
Sir Joseph Pope in 1925. He became one of
Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
's most trusted advisors during the inter-war era. He served as the principal adviser to the Prime Minister and was sometimes called the "deputy prime minister".
King's choice of Skelton to succeed Pope was influenced in part by an address which Skelton gave to the
Canadian Club in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
in 1922, praising King's decision for neutrality during the
Chanak crisis and stated that Canada should not issue "blank cheques" to Britain as in 1914 when Canada considered itself automatically at war with Germany because Britain had declared war. He served for more than 15 years in this capacity. Skelton was described by one historian as the most powerful civil servant in Canada of his time.
[
Skelton served as a member of the ]2nd Council of the Northwest Territories
The 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories, known formally as the Council of the Northwest Territories, was the governing body of Canada's Northwest Territories from 1905 to 1951. In 1905 when Alberta and Saskatchewan were carved out the Northwe ...
until his death on January 28, 1941, in Ottawa. His death, coming in the midst of wartime, hit King very hard; the two, who shared similar educational backgrounds, had been close. Historian John English, in his biography of Lester B. Pearson, wrote that Skelton played the major role in the building of Canada's external affairs department.[''Shadow of Heaven: The Life of Lester Pearson'', volume 1, by John English.]
Works
* ''Socialism: A Critical Analysis'', (1911)
* ''Economic History Of Canada Since Confederation'', (1913)
* ''The Day Of Sir Wilfrid Laurier: A Chronicle Of Our Own Times'', (1916)
* ''The Railway/Railroad Builders: A Chronicle Of Overland Highways'', (1916)
* ''The Life And Times Of Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt'', (1920)
* ''The Canadian Dominion: A Chronicle Of Our Northern Neighbor'', (1920)
* ''Life And Letters Of Sir Wilfrid Laurier'', (1921)
* ''Our Generation, Its Gains And Losses'', (1938)
Source:
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Oscar Douglas Skelton
at The Canadian Encyclopedia
*
*
*
*
O.D. Skelton: The Work of the World 1923-1941 By Norman Hillmer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelton, Oscar Douglas
1878 births
1941 deaths
20th-century Canadian civil servants
Canadian economists
20th-century Canadian historians
Canadian male non-fiction writers
Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
People from Orangeville, Ontario
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
Queen's University at Kingston faculty
University of Chicago alumni
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Canadian people of World War II
Presidents of the Canadian Political Science Association