William Joseph Browne, (May 3, 1897 – January 10, 1989) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
lawyer, judge and politician. He served in the
Newfoundland House of Assembly
The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. Jo ...
and the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
.
The son of Liberius Browne and Bridget O'Reilly, he was born in
St. John's,
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 ...
and was educated at Holy Cross School,
Saint Bonaventure's College
St. Bonaventure's College (commonly called St. Bon's) is an independent kindergarten to grade 12 Catholic School in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, adjacent to the Roman Cat ...
,
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
,
the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
and
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Browne was called to the bars of both England and Newfoundland in 1922 and practised law in Newfoundland.
Browne ran unsuccessfully for the Placentia-St. Mary's seat in the Newfoundland assembly in 1923. He was elected for St. John's West in 1924 and defeated when he ran for reelection in 1928. He was elected to the assembly again in 1932 for Harbour Main-Bell Island and so was a member of the last
Newfoundland House of Assembly
The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. Jo ...
in 1933 when the
Commission of Government
The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...
took over governing Newfoundland. He was a cabinet minister in the government of
Frederick C. Alderdice, first serving as a
minister without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
and then as Minister of Finance and Customs and Minister of Justice.
In 1934, he was named
King's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
. From 1934 to 1939, Browne was a judge in the Central District Court. In
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of
St. John's West. A Progressive Conservative, he was defeated in the
1953 federal election. He was elected again to the House of Assembly in 1954. He was re-elected to the House of Commons in the
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
and
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
elections. He was defeated in the
1962 election and again in the
1965 election. From 1957 to 1960, he was a
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
in the cabinet of
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...
.
[ From 1960 to 1962, he was the ]Solicitor General of Canada The Solicitor General of Canada was a position in the Canadian ministry from 1892 to 2005. The position was based on the Solicitor General in the British system and was originally designated as an officer to assist the Minister of Justice. It was n ...
. He retired from politics in 1962 and returned to the practice of law.
In 1981, he published his biography, ''Eighty-four years a Newfoundlander: Memoirs of William J. Browne'' ().
He was married four times: first to Mary Grace Harris in 1924, to Mary Roche in 1933, to Margaret Fleming (née Buckley) in 1951.,[ and to Dr Norah Elphinstone Renouf in 1970, outliving all his wives except for Norah, who died November 24, 2010.
Browne died in St. John's at the age of 91.][
There is a William Joseph Browne ]fonds
In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...
at Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, William Joseph
1897 births
1989 deaths
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Solicitors General of Canada
Canadian King's Counsel
Dominion of Newfoundland judges
Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford