Theodore Roosevelt O'Neil Meighen (October 1905 – 1979) was a Canadian lawyer and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

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 ...

and Isabel Cox.

Education

Meighen was born in

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

. He attended the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

in 1925, student #1865. He studied law at

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

Career

He practiced law in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, and became a senior partner in the firm of McMaster Meighen. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was based in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

while serving in the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

. After the war he retired, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He established the T. R. Meighen Family Foundation in 1969.

Family

Meighen married Margaret "Peggy" DeLancey Robinson in 1937. She was a descendant of American Loyalist

Beverley Robinson Beverley Robinson (11 January 1721 – 9 April 1792), was a Virginia-born soldier who became a wealthy colonist of the Province of New York and is best known as a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War. Robinson married Susanna Philips ...

. Their children included

Michael Meighen Michael Arthur Meighen, (born March 25, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, cultural patron, and former senator. He practised as a litigation and commercial lawyer in Montreal and Toronto. He is a grandson of Arthur Meighen, the ninth Prime Minister o ...

, who was later named to the Senate of Canada. Following Theodore Meighen's death, Peggy married Senator

Hartland Molson Hartland de Montarville Molson, (May 29, 1907 – September 28, 2002) was an Anglo-Quebecer statesman, Canadian senator, military aviator, and a member of the Molson family of brewers. Education Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to a wealthy ...

in 1990, and remains the only Canadian ever to have both a son and a husband sitting in the Canadian Senate simultaneously. She died on December 18, 2000, at the age of 85, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Theodore Meighen was also the brother of arts philanthropist Lillian Meighen Wright.

External links

T. R. Meighen Family Foundation

References

Theodore Meighen 1905 births 1979 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War II Lawyers in Quebec Canadian philanthropists Children of prime ministers of Canada People from Portage la Prairie Royal Military College of Canada alumni 20th-century philanthropists Canadian people of Scottish descent {{Canada-activist-stub