Date of Birth1815-01-11
Place of birth:Glasgow, Scotland
Date of Death1891-06-06
Place of death:Ottawa, Ontario
Cause of death:complications of stroke suffered on May 29 1891
Sir John A. Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada and a dominant figure in Canadian confederation. He was second longest serving Prime Minister and the only PM to win 6 majority governments.
Educated: Royal Grammar, Kingston, Upper Canada; Oxford University
Private Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Conservative (formerly Liberal-Conservative)
Term of Office: July 1, 1867 – November 5, 1873; October 17, 1878 – June 6, 1891
Other Ministries: Pre-confederation Legislative Assembly; Receiver-General 1847-48; Attorney-General 1854-56, 1862.
Married: September 1, 1843 to Isabella Clark (1811-56); February 16, 1867 to Susan Agnes Bernard (1836-1920)
Interment Info
With him in the family plot are his mother Helen and father Hugh, his first wife Isabella, 1809-1857, and an infant son who died in 1848. His second wife Susan Agnes Bernard, Baroness Macdonald, is buried in Ocklynge Cemetery in Eastbourne, south of London, England. When he died in 1891 grieving Canadians turned out in the thousands to pay their respects while he lay in state in the Senate Chamber and they lined the tracks to watch the train that returned his body to Kingston. His funeral was held on June 9 1891.
Inscription:
John Alexander Macdonald
1815 – 1891
At rest.