Arthur Beauchesne was a Canadian civil servant who was Clerk of the House of Commons from 1925 to 1949. He is the author of the procedural

Parliamentary procedure

Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...

 manual, Rules and Forms of the House of Commons of Canada

Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms

Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms is the most commonly used rules of order used in Canada. The first edition was published in 1922 by Arthur Beauchesne, Clerk of the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1949....

, which is used by Canadian Members of Parliament during parliamentary debates.

Born in Carleton, Bonaventure County

Bonaventure Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Bonaventure Regional County Municipality is a regional county municipality in eastern Quebec, on the Gaspé Peninsula. The regional county municipality seat is New Carlisle.-Communities:Cities*Bonaventure*New Richmond*Paspébiac...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Beauchesne received a Bachelor's degree from St. Joseph’s College in Memramcook, New Brunswick

Memramcook, New Brunswick

Memramcook is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac derivative of the French language....

. He then studied literature and law in Montreal receiving a degree in literature in 1897. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1904.

In 1912, he joined the federal civil service working in the Department of Justice and in 1916 he was appointed Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons. In 1925, he was appointed Clerk of the House of Commons. He retired in 1949.

In 1908, he was the Conservative candidate in the riding of Bonaventure

Bonaventure (electoral district)

Bonaventure was a federal electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1997...

  for the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in the 1908 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1908

The Canadian federal election of 1908 was held on October 26 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in government with a majority government...

. He lost to Charles Marcil

Charles Marcil

Charles Marcil, PC was a long time member of the Canadian House of Commons and served as Speaker of the House from 1909 - 1911....

. He ran again in the 1953 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1953

The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...

 for the riding of Ottawa East

Ottawa—Vanier

Ottawa—Vanier is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935...

 losing to Jean-Thomas Richard

Jean-Thomas Richard

Jean-Thomas Richard was a Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario and became a barrister and lawyer by career....

.

He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 in 1933. In 2003, he was designated a Persons of National Historic Significance.