Thomas Birkett

For his son, a member of the provincial parliament, see Thomas Miles Birkett.
Thomas Birkett

Thomas Birkett Source: Library and Archives Canada
Mayor of Ottawa
Assumed office
1891
Preceded by Jacob Erratt
Succeeded by Olivier Durocher
Canadian House of Commons representing Ottawa City
In office
1900–1904
Personal details
Born February 1, 1844
Ottawa, Ontario
Died December 2, 1920(1920-12-02) (aged 76)
Ottawa, Ontario
Spouse(s) 1871 Mary Gallagher; 1904 Henrietta Gallagher

Thomas Birkett (February 1, 1844 – December 2, 1920) was mayor of Ottawa, Canada in 1891 [1] and a member of the Canadian House of Commons representing Ottawa City from 1900 to 1904.[2]

He was born in Ottawa in 1844,[2] the son of Miles Birkett and Elizabeth Wren, who came to Upper Canada from England. At the age of 13, he became an apprentice to a local hardware store owner. In 1866, he opened his own hardware store. Birkett served on the school board from 1867 to 1871 and was an alderman on Ottawa City Council from 1873 to 1878.[3] During his term as mayor, electric streetcars were introduced in Ottawa.[4] In 1871, he married Mary Gallagher;[3] after her death, he married Henrietta Gallagher, her stepsister, in 1904.[5] Birkett also served as president of the advisory board of the Dominion Building and Loan Association at Ottawa. He was also a long-time member of the Masonic Order.[3] In 1900, he was named a trustee for the Ottawa Collegiate Institute.[5] He died in Ottawa of pneumonia in 1920.[4] He is buried at Beechwood Cemetery.

His former home, nicknamed Birkett's Castle, is now used as the Hungarian Embassy.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Dave Mullington "Chain of Office: Biographic Sketches of Ottawa's Mayors (1847-1948)" (Renfrew, Ontario: General Store Publishing House, 2005)
  2. 1 2 Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament
  3. 1 2 3 Prominent men of Canada: a collection of persons distinguished ..., GM Adam (1892)
  4. 1 2 3 Mulligan, Dave (2005). Chain of office: biographical sketches of the early mayors of Ottawa (1847-1948). pp. 77–9. ISBN 1-897113-17-X. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  5. 1 2 A cyclopædia of Canadian biography : brief biographies of persons, HW Charlesworth (1919)
Preceded by
Jacob Erratt		 Mayor of Ottawa
1891 		Succeeded by
Olivier Durocher


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