George Browne (November 5, 1811 – November 19, 1885) was an Irish-born Canadian architect who designed some of the finest buildings in Canada of his time. He was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and was said to be the son of an Irish architect who was also named George Browne. Browne designed houses in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

during the 1830s. He designed buildings in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

after it became the capital of the Canadas in 1841 and then moved to Montreal after the capital was moved there. He was married twice, first to Anna Maria Jameson and then to Helen Kissock. He served on Montreal city council and as a commissioner of the peace. Browne died in Montreal at the age of 74 and was buried in

Mount Royal Cemetery Mount Royal Cemetery ( French: Cimetière Mont-Royal) is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1852. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, ...

under a monument which he had designed for his first wife. His son George was a prominent architect active in Winnipeg and his son John James was also an architect active in Montreal. Buildings designed by Browne which are still in use include Kingston City Hall, a former Bank of Montreal building in Kingston and the Molsons Bank at Montreal (now the Bank of Montreal).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, George 1811 births 1885 deaths Architects from Belfast Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 19th-century Canadian architects Anglophone Quebec people Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery