Britton Bath Osler
Encyclopedia
Britton Bath Osler was a Canadian lawyer
and prosecutor
.
The older of three famous brothers (the other two being Edmund Boyd Osler
and Sir William Osler
), he was born in Bond Head
, Canada West
. His father, Featherstone Lake Osler (1805-1895), the son of a shipowner at Falmouth, Cornwall
, was a former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and served on H.M.S. Victory. In 1831 he was invited to serve on H.M.S. Beagle as the science officer on Charles Darwin
's historic voyage to the Galápagos Islands
, but he turned it down as his father was dying. As a teenager Featherstone Osler was aboard H.M.S. Sappho when it was nearly destroyed by Atlantic storms and left adrift for weeks. Serving in the Navy he was ship-wrecked off Barbados
. In 1837 he retired from the Navy and emigrated to Canada
, becoming a 'saddle-bag minister' in rural Upper Canada
. On arriving in Canada he and his bride (Ellen Free Pickton) were nearly ship-wrecked again on Egg Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
. Britton's great grandfather, Edward Osler, was variously described as either a merchant seaman or a pirate, and one of Britton's uncles, a medical officer in the Navy, wrote the Life of Lord Exmouth and the poem The Voyage.
He first rose to national prominence by helping to secure the conviction of Louis Riel
on charges of treason
following the North-West Rebellion
of 1885. He subsequently represented the government of Canada
in arbitrations with the Canadian Pacific Railway
arising from construction contracts carried out by contractor Andrew Onderdonk
. He is also noted for his role as a prosecutor in numerous lurid murder
trials
, including that of Reginald Birchall
.
B.B. Osler is also known for founding the law firm McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin & Creelman (later known as McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt) with D'Alton McCarthy, the predecessor to today's firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
. Approximately 15 years after D'Alton McCarthy's death, his son and two nephews split from McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt to begin their own firm, the predecessor to the firm known today as McCarthy Tétrault
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
.
The older of three famous brothers (the other two being Edmund Boyd Osler
Edmund Boyd Osler (Ontario politician)
Sir Edmund Boyd Osler was a Canadian banker and politician.Osler was born at Tecumseh Township, Simcoe County, Canada West; he was brother of Britton Bath Osler , and doctor Sir William Osler...
and Sir William Osler
William Osler
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a physician. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital as the first Professor of Medicine and founder of the Medical Service there. Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a physician. He was...
), he was born in Bond Head
Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario
Bradford West Gwillimbury, a town in south-central Ontario, in the County of Simcoe in the Greater Toronto Area on the Holland River. West Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née Gwillim....
, Canada West
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. His father, Featherstone Lake Osler (1805-1895), the son of a shipowner at Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, was a former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and served on H.M.S. Victory. In 1831 he was invited to serve on H.M.S. Beagle as the science officer on Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's historic voyage to the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, but he turned it down as his father was dying. As a teenager Featherstone Osler was aboard H.M.S. Sappho when it was nearly destroyed by Atlantic storms and left adrift for weeks. Serving in the Navy he was ship-wrecked off Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. In 1837 he retired from the Navy and emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, becoming a 'saddle-bag minister' in rural Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. On arriving in Canada he and his bride (Ellen Free Pickton) were nearly ship-wrecked again on Egg Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
. Britton's great grandfather, Edward Osler, was variously described as either a merchant seaman or a pirate, and one of Britton's uncles, a medical officer in the Navy, wrote the Life of Lord Exmouth and the poem The Voyage.
He first rose to national prominence by helping to secure the conviction of Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
on charges of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
following the North-West Rebellion
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
of 1885. He subsequently represented the government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
in arbitrations with the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
arising from construction contracts carried out by contractor Andrew Onderdonk
Andrew Onderdonk
Andrew Onderdonk was a construction contractor who worked on several major projects including the San Francisco seawall in California and the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia. He was born on August 30, 1848 in New York to an established Dutch family. He received his education at the...
. He is also noted for his role as a prosecutor in numerous lurid murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
trials
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
, including that of Reginald Birchall
Reginald Birchall
Reginald Birchall was a convicted murderer who, after due process, was hanged at Woodstock, Ontario....
.
B.B. Osler is also known for founding the law firm McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin & Creelman (later known as McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt) with D'Alton McCarthy, the predecessor to today's firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is one of Canada’s largest business law firms practising nationally and internationally from its offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and New York. It is one of Bay Street's "seven sisters". Clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the...
. Approximately 15 years after D'Alton McCarthy's death, his son and two nephews split from McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt to begin their own firm, the predecessor to the firm known today as McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault LLP is a law firm with offices in Canada’s major commercial centres and in London, UK. It provides business law, litigation, tax, real estate, and labour and employment law services....
.