John Hamilton (1802 – 10 October 1882) was a businessman, a political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North Americ ...

and member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the ...

. He was born in

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...

in 1802, the son of Robert Hamilton. He was educated in Queenston and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland and first worked as a clerk 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- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

. In 1824, with his stepbrother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, he established the Queenston Steamboat Company which operated a number of ships transporting goods on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. In 1831, he was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Upper Canada The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist ...

for Queenston and, in 1841, he was re-appointed to its successor, the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as ...

for Canada West. In the 1840s, due to increasing competition, he moved to Kingston, where he operated a business moving goods between Kingston and Montreal. In 1857, after his former competitors had gone bankrupt, he began operating on Lake Ontario again. In 1847, he became president of the Commercial Bank of the Midland District. Although his relationship with the bank was useful to his shipping business, his lack of attention to the bank's business may have contributed to its failure. He was a co-founder of Queen's College at Kingston, later Queen's University, and became chairman of the board of trustees in 1842. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, he was appointed to the Senate on 23 October 1867 by

royal proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

following the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...

of 1867. He served in that capacity, representing the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 ...

and Kingston until his death. He died at Kingston in 1882.

External links

*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, John 1802 births 1882 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian senators from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Niagara-on-the-Lake Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Queen's University at Kingston people