Robert Smeaton White Explained

Robert Smeaton White
Constituency Mp:Cardwell
Parliament:Canadian
Predecessor:Thomas White
Successor:William Stubbs
Term Start:1888
Term End:1895
Constituency Mp2:Mount Royal
Parliament2:Canadian
Predecessor2:District was created in 1924
Successor2:William Allen Walsh
Term Start2:1925
Term End2:1935
Constituency Mp3:Saint-Antoine—Westmount
Parliament3:Canadian
Predecessor3:District was created in 1933
Successor3:Douglas Abbott
Term Start3:1935
Term End3:1940
Birth Date:15 March 1856
Birth Place:Peterborough, Canada West
Death Place:Westmount, Quebec
Party:Conservative

Robert Smeaton White (March 15, 1856 – December 5, 1944) was a Canadian journalist and political figure. In the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada, he represented Cardwell from 1888 to 1895, Mount Royal from 1925 to 1935 and Saint-Antoine—Westmount from 1935 to 1940 as a Conservative member.[1]

He was born in Peterborough, Canada West in 1856, the son of Thomas White and Esther Vine,[2] and studied at McGill University. In 1882, he married Ruth McDougall. He worked for a wholesale merchant at Montreal and then the Bank of Montreal, before joining the Montreal Gazette in 1884. White later became chief editor for the paper. In 1888, he married Annie Barclay after the death of his first wife.[3] He was first elected to the House of Commons in an 1888 by-election held in Cardwell after the death of his father. In 1896, he was appointed customs collector at Montreal. White ran unsuccessfully as a member of the National Government Party in Saint-Antoine—Westmount in 1940. He died in Westmount on December 5, 1944, at the age of 88.[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Robert Smeaton White, 88, Dies; Veteran Journalist, Legislator. December 6, 1944. The Gazette. 1. April 1, 2013. Montreal.
  2. Book: Johnson, J.K. . The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967 . 1968 . Public Archives of Canada.
  3. http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=32960 The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1889 JA Gemmill