Charles Ramsay Devlin was a Canadian

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...

 politician who was a Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) in 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 Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Legislative Assembly of Quebec

The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...

, and an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

.

Career

Born in Aylmer

Aylmer, Quebec

Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It became a sector of the City of Gatineau on January 1, 2002. Located on the Ottawa River and Route 148 it is a part of the National Capital Region. The population in 2006 was 41 882 — approx. 16% of Gatineau...

, Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

, the son of Charles Devlin and Ellen Roney, his father was a merchant from Roscommon

Roscommon

Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...

 in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. After attending the Petit Séminaire de Montréal from 1871 to 1877, he studied at the Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

 in the faculty of arts from 1879 to 1881 but did not graduate. It is uncertain what his profession was before being elected as the Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 candidate in 1891

Canadian federal election, 1891

The Canadian federal election of 1891 was held on March 5 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald....

 to 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...

 for the riding of Ottawa (County of)

Ottawa (County of)

Ottawa was a federal and provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada, which was represented in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1830 to 1867, in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892, and in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to at least 1919.The...

 with the help of his friend Henri Bourassa

Henri Bourassa

Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. He is seen by many as an ideological father of Canadian nationalism....

. He was re-elected in 1896

Canadian federal election, 1896

The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...

 for the riding of Wright

Wright (electoral district)

Wright was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1896 to 1948.This riding was created in 1892 from parts of Ottawa County riding...

. He resigned in 1897 and was appointed Canada’s first trade commissioner in Ireland and served until 1902.

In 1902, against the advice of Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier

Wilfrid Laurier

Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....

, Devlin was elected by acclamation to the British House of Commons as the Irish Parliamentary Party

Irish Parliamentary Party

The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...

 candidate for Galway Borough

Galway Borough (UK Parliament constituency)

Galway Borough was a United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland. It returned one MP 1801–1832, two MPs 1832–1885 and one thereafter. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Boundaries:This...

. From 1903 to 1906, he was secretary general of the United Irish League

United Irish League

The United Irish League was a nationalist political party in Ireland, launched 23 January 1898 with the motto "The Land for the People" . Its objective to be achieved through agrarian agitation and land reform, compelling larger grazier farmers to surrender their lands for redistribution amongst...

. After being returned in the January 1906 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1906

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

 he resigned later that year to return to Canada and was elected to the Canadian House of Commons from the riding of Nicolet

Nicolet (electoral district)

Nicolet was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which preserved existing electoral districts in Lower Canada. It consisted of the County of Nicolet. From 1903...

. He resigned in 1907, after being appointed minister of colonization, mines, and fisheries in the cabinet of Quebec Premier Lomer Gouin

Lomer Gouin

Sir Jean Lomer Gouin, PC, KCMG was a Canadian politician.-Biography:He was born in Grondines, Quebec and served as 13th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec, as a Cabinet minister in the federal government of Canada, and as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.On May 24, 1888, he married...

. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec in a 1907 by-election in the riding of Nicolet

Nicolet (provincial electoral district)

Nicolet was a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Situated in the Montérégie region, the district was formed in 1867 and was later merged in 1973 with Yamaska to form Nicolet-Yamaska....

 and was re-elected in 1908

Quebec general election, 1908

The Quebec general election of 1908 was held on June 8, 1908 to elect members of the 12th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...

 and 1912

Quebec general election, 1912

The Quebec general election of 1912 was held on May 15, 1912 to elect members of the 13th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada...

. He served until his death in 1914.

He was awarded honorary degrees from the Université Laval in 1908 and the University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

 in 1910. His brother, Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin

Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin

Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin was a Canadian politician.Born in Aylmer, Quebec, the son of Charles Devlin and Ellen Roney, Devlin was educated at the Collège Sainte-Marie in Montreal and Mount St Mary's College in Derbyshire, England...

 was also a member of the Canadian House of Commons.

External links