James Langstaff Bowman, (October 6, 1879 – September 14, 1951) was the first

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons () is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), a speaker is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in pre ...

from

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Biography

Bowman had been a teacher and lawyer in

Dauphin, Manitoba Dauphin () is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 8,368 as of the 2021 Canadian Census. The community is surrounded by the Dauphin, Manitoba (rural municipality), Rural Municipality of Dauphin. The city takes its name from Lake Daup ...

. In 1917, he became the town's mayor. He ran unsuccessfully in the

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

and 1926 general elections for the Conservative Party. He finally winning a seat in the 1930 election that brought

R.B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in Ho ...

to power. He became Speaker after his predecessor, George Black, suffered a nervous breakdown in the summer of 1934, and was unfit to preside when the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

reconvened in January 1935. As the Deputy Speaker was ill, Bennett approached Bowman, a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

er, hours before the House was to convene, about becoming Speaker for the rest of the Parliamentary term. Bowman had little experience as Speaker and had to deal with a tense, pre-election session. Members of Parliament on all sides of the House felt that Bowman did well in the job. But when the 1935 general election was held in the fall, Bowman lost his

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

by a large margin. He returned to his law practice in Dauphin and failed in his attempt to regain his seat in the 1940 election. James Bowman was named to the team that represented the

Manitoba Curling Association Curl Manitoba or CurlManitoba (registered as the Manitoba Curling Association) is the provincial sport governing body for curling in Manitoba. Its stated mission is "to promote, develop and grow the sport of curling in Manitoba, Canada and the wo ...

at the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 ...

. That year,

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...

. Bowman was third for the team which took first place in the event. The Manitoba team was undefeated, winning all four of its games at the Olympics. In 2004, the team was inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, James Langstaff 1879 births 1951 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada Lawyers in Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian sportsperson-politicians from Manitoba Canadian people of German descent Mayors of Dauphin, Manitoba Canadian male curlers Curlers from Manitoba Curlers from Ontario Olympic curlers for Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Curlers at the 1932 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen 20th-century mayors of places in Manitoba