William John Higgins (1880 – October 7, 1943) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He represented

St. John's East St. John's East (french: St. John's-Est; formerly known as St. John's North) is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1949. It covers a part of St ...

in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1913 to 1928 as a member of the

Newfoundland People's Party {{Infobox political party , name = Newfoundland People's Party , colorcode = {{Canadian party colour, NF, People's , foundation = 1907 , ideology = Social democracyIrish Catholic interests , headquarters = St. John's , country = Canada , di ...

, Liberal Progressive party, Liberal-Labour-Progressive party and the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party. He was born in St. John's and was educated there. He worked as a clerk for a time. Higgins was called to the Newfoundland bar in 1910. He excelled in sports: he rowed in the Royal St. John's Regatta from 1901 to 1908, was the Newfoundland champion in the mile run for two years, was president of a number of sports leagues and president of the Newfoundland Amateur Athletic Association. Higgins served as speaker for the Newfoundland assembly from 1918 to 1919. He was leader of the Liberal-Labour-Progressive Party from 1923 to 1924. He served in the Newfoundland Executive Council as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. After he retired from politics in 1928, he was named a judge in the Newfoundland Supreme Court. His son, Gordon, served in the Canadian House of Commons.

References

* Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Newfoundland People's Party MHAs 1880 births 1943 deaths Dominion of Newfoundland politicians Dominion of Newfoundland judges Attorneys-General of the Dominion of Newfoundland Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador {{Newfoundland-politician-stub