William Dowler Morris (August 22, 1857 – April 13, 1931) was mayor of Ottawa, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1901. He was born in County Leitrim,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1857 and came to Canada in 1877. He became involved in the oil, coal and real estate businesses; he also owned a brickyard. Morris was first elected to city council in 1892. He was forced to resign as mayor after being convicted of drinking after hours at the Russell House, an Ottawa hotel, an offence under the liquor license act. Under Ontario law at the time, the law provided that a violator of provincial law was disqualified from voting or holding public office for a period of two years, and Mayor Morris pled guilty on November 16, 1901."Mayor Fined Quits Office"
''Chicago Sunday Tribune'', November 17, 1901, p1 During his term as mayor, he was instrumental in persuading philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

to donate funds for the main branch of the

Ottawa Public Library The Ottawa Public Library (OPL; french: Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa) is the library system of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The library was founded in 1906 with a donation from the Carnegie Foundation. Services * Information and reference servi ...

; the city made a commitment to allocate funds for the ongoing upkeep of the library. However, the mayor of the time,

James A. Ellis James Albert Ellis (June 1, 1864 – December 27, 1934) was mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1904 to 1906 and in 1913. He represented Ottawa West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1911 to 1914. He was born in Accrington, Lancashir ...

, chose not to invite Morris to the 1906 opening. Morris also served as a transport officer in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

at the age of 60. Morris died in

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in 1931.

References

*''Chain of Office: Biographical Sketches of the Early Mayors of Ottawa (1847-1948)'', Dave Mullington () 1857 births 1931 deaths Mayors of Ottawa Politicians from County Leitrim Irish emigrants to Canada {{Ontario-mayor-stub