Joseph Read (October 31, 1849 – April 6, 1919) was a Canadian merchant, ship owner and political figure on

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. He represented 4th Prince in the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island () together with the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island form the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at ...

from 1900 to 1909 and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

in 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 ...

from 1917 to 1919 as a Liberal. He was born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, the son of Ephraim Read and Rosara Chappell, and was educated there. After high school, he attended Ion's Nautical School in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

. He later became a master mariner, commanding a number of large ships owned by John Lefurgey. In 1877, he married Sarah Carruthers. Read later served as shipping master and port warden at Summerside. Read served in the province's Executive Council from 1904 to 1905. His election in 1908 was disputed due to questions about the eligibility of some votes. Depending on the source quoted, in 1909, either his election was overturned or he resigned to allow a by-election. Read was defeated by three votes in the by-election held later that year. In the House of Commons, Read spoke against the decrease in the number of federal seats allocated to Prince Edward Island from six at the time that it joined Canada to four when Read was elected to the House. He died in office in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

at the age of 69. William Lyon Mackenzie King, chosen as Liberal party leader but without a seat, was elected to the House of Commons in the 1919 by-election held for the Prince seat following Read's death.

References

Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Prince Edward Island Liberal Party of Canada MPs Politicians from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs 1849 births 1919 deaths 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{PrinceEdwardIsland-MP-stub