Richard Cramm (October 13, 1889 – April 15, 1958) was a

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

lawyer and politician. He represented Bay de Verde in the

Newfoundland House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

from 1923 to 1928.

Education and law career

The son of John Cramm and Margaret King, he was born in Small Point and was educated in nearby Salem, at the Tilton Seminary in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and at the

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

. Upon returning home, Cramm published a book in 1921 called ''The First Five Hundred'' about the

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Cramm studied law and was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1923. He was called to the Newfoundland bar in 1924 and was named

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1928. In 1924, he married Ollie Lynette Moores.

Politics

Cramm was elected to the Newfoundland assembly in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

as a member of the

Liberal Reform Liberal Reform is an internal political group of members of the British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats. Membership of the group is open to any Liberal Democrat member, and is free of charge. It was launched on 13 February 2012, and de ...

party led by

Richard Squires Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG (January 18, 1880 – March 26, 1940) was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932. As prime minister, Squires attempted to reform Newfoundland's fishing industry, but failed ...

. After Squires stepped down as party leader, he was a supporter of his successor William Warren. However, after the Hollis Walker Report was released which recommended criminal charges against Squires, Cramm joined the opposition and moved the

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

which brought down Warren's administration. Cramm was reelected in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

as a

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

led by Walter Monroe. He was named a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in the new cabinet and, in 1926, became acting Attorney General. Cramm was defeated in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

when he ran as an independent candidate in Carbonear. He returned to practising law in St. John's. In May and June 1932, he served as a minister without portfolio in the short-lived Squires cabinet. In

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

, Cramm ran unsuccessfully as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Canadian federal riding of

Trinity—Conception Trinity—Conception was a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1968. This riding was created in 1949 when Newfoundland joined the Canadian Confede ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cramm, Richard 1889 births 1958 deaths Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Canadian King's Counsel Attorneys-general of the Dominion of Newfoundland Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Tilton School alumni 20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly