John Abbott

The Honourable Sir John Abbott PC QC KCMG
Abbott in 1892
3rd Prime Minister of Canada
In office June 16, 1891 – November 24, 1892
Monarch	Victoria
Governor General	Lord Stanley of Preston
Preceded by	John A. Macdonald
Succeeded by	John Thompson
19th Mayor of Montreal
In office 1887–1889
Preceded by	Honoré Beaugrand
Succeeded by	Jacques Grenier
Canadian Senator from Quebec
In office May 12, 1887 – October 30, 1893
Appointed by	John A. Macdonald
Constituency	Inkerman
Member of Parliament for Argenteuil
In office 1880–1887
Preceded by	Thomas Christie
Succeeded by	James Crocket Wilson
In office September 20, 1867 – 1874
Preceded by	Riding established
Succeeded by	Lemuel Cushing, Jr.
Personal details
Born	John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (1821-03-12)March 12, 1821 St. Andrews East, Lower Canada
Died	October 30, 1893(1893-10-30) (aged 72) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Resting place	Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Mary Bethune ​ (m. 1849)​
Children	8
Parent(s)	Joseph Abbott Harriet Bradford
Education	McGill University (1847)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Province of Canada Dominion of Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Militia
Years of service	1847–1884
Rank	Captain Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	2nd Montreal Militia Battalion 4th Montreal Militia Battalion 11th Argenteuil Rangers
Commands	11th Argenteuil Rangers (1862-1884)
Battles/wars	Fenian Raids

Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott PC QC KCMG (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party.

Abbott was born in what is now Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec. He studied law at McGill University and became one of Montreal's best-known lawyers, later returning to McGill as a professor of law and earning a Doctor of Civil Law degree. He was perhaps best known for his successful defence of the perpetrators of the St. Albans Raid. Abbott involved himself in politics from a young age, signing the Montreal Annexation Manifesto in 1849 – which he later regretted – and winning election to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1860. In the lead-up to Confederation he was a prominent advocate for the rights of English-speaking Quebecers.

In the 1867 federal election, Abbott was elected to the new House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Conservative Party. A telegram leaked from his office played a key part in the Pacific Scandal of 1873, which led to the downfall of John A. Macdonald's first government. Abbott was appointed to the Senate in 1887, in order to become leader of the Government in the Senate. He became prime minister in June 1891 following Macdonald's death in office. He was the first native-born Canadian prime minister, both Macdonald and Alexander Mackenzie having been born in Scotland. Abbott was 70 years old at the time, and served only until November 1892 when he retired due to ill health. He died the following year.^[1]