William Buckingham (December 3, 1832 – June 11, 1915) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, author and politician. Buckingham was born in

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...

to Robert and Jane Buckingham. After completing his education and working as a shorthand writer in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he came to Canada in 1857 and joined the parliamentary reporting staff of the ''Toronto Globe''. In 1859, he travelled to

Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's ...

at the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hud ...

(now

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) with a hand press brought from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and established the '' Nor' Wester'', the first newspaper published in the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

, with William Coldwell and James Ross. The first issue of the paper appeared on August 22, 1859. Although the paper was favourably received, it was not a financial success, prompting Buckingham to return east soon afterwards. The newspaper's operations continued until 1869, when it was seized by

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

for its pro-Confederation advocacy. In 1861, Buckingham became the editor of the ''

Simcoe Reformer The ''Simcoe Reformer'' is a newspaper circulating in Norfolk County, Ontario and Haldimand County, Ontario, both in Canada. The ''Reformer'' is published weekdays. History In 1858, Dr William H. Oliver, who had written for and edited a number of ...

'' and from 1863 to 1874 was editor of the '' Stratford Beacon''. In 1866, he acted as the official reporter of the

London Conference of 1866 The London Conference was held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 1866. It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunsw ...

, which drafted ''

The British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

''. In 1862, Buckingham was appointed private secretary to

Michael Hamilton Foley Michael Hamilton Foley (1820 – April 8, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in Canada West. He was born in Sligo in Ireland in 1820 and came to Port Colborne in Upper Canada with his parents in 1822. He began work as a school teacher but late ...

.Special Despatch to, T. G. (1915, Jun 12). DEATH HAS SUMMONED WILLIAM BUCKINGHAM: HE HAD HELD IMPORTANT POSTS IN PUBLIC LIFE WAS A DEPUTY MINISTER PRIVATE SECRETARY TO PRIME MINISTER HON. ALOX. MNCKENZIE AND TO HON. M. H. FOLEY, P.M.G.--NOTED AS EDITOR AND BUSINESS MAN. ''The Globe (1844-1936)'' The following year, he married Martha Phelps of Mount Pleasant,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

; they had six children. He subsequently served as the private secretary of Alexander Mackenzie during his tenure as prime minister from 1873 to 1878, and was later appointed Deputy

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

under David Mills on October 8, 1878. Following the federal election of 1878,

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

assumed the role of Minister of the Interior and, preferring not to have his political rival's private secretary as his Deputy, suggested that Buckingham consent to a change in his position. Buckingham resigned his position soon afterwards, and declined an offer to become Inspector of Prisons and Public Charities of Ontario. Buckingham later served as reeve of Stratford, Ontario. In 1892, Buckingham co-wrote ''The Honourable Alexander Mackenzie: His Life and Times'' with

George William Ross Sir George William Ross (September 18, 1841 – March 7, 1914) was an educator and politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the fifth premier of Ontario from 1899 to 1905. Early life Born near Nairn, in Middlesex County, Upper Cana ...

, who became

premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

in 1899. Buckingham was also the author of ''Recollections of Canadian Statesmen'', and published an article on "George Brown and The Globe" for ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

''. Buckingham died at Stratford on June 11, 1915. Buckingham Road in Winnipeg is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckingham, William 1832 births 1915 deaths 19th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male biographers English emigrants to Canada People from Crediton 19th-century Canadian biographers