Robert Bickerdike (17 August 1843 – 28 December 1928) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

live stock shipping and insurance agent and politician. Born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

, the son of Thomas Bickerdike, of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, England, and Agnes Cowan, Bickerdike spent most of his life in Quebec after his father moved to Beauharnois County to farm. After acquiring an elementary education at the country school of the district, Bickerdike helped his father for some time on his farm, but at the age of seventeen moved to Montreal, shortly after arriving taking his first position away from home, that of a butcher's boy. Ten years after he arrived in Montreal he entered into the pork packing trade for himself. He sat for several years in the St. Henri town council. In 1876 he entered the export business, then practically a new industry, and for the twenty years succeeding was one of the largest cattle exporters in Canada. He organized the Dominion Abattoir and Stock Yards Company, the Dominion Live Stock Assurance Company and the Standard Light and Power Company. He had for a number of years represented the Marine Department of the Western Assurance Company. For many years Bickerdike had been a director of the Bank of Hochelaga, and for the fifteen years was its vice-president. He was for many years a member of the Council of the Montreal Board of Trade, and in 1896 was elected president. He was a life governor of the

Montreal General Hospital The Montreal General Hospital (MGH) (french: Hôpital Général de Montréal) is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada established in the years 1818-1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of the McGill University ...

In 1897, he was elected as the Liberal candidate in the

Montréal division no. 5 Montréal division no. 5 (or Montréal no. 5) was a former provincial electoral district in the Montreal (region), Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. It was created for the 1890 Quebec ge ...

electoral district in the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, ...

. In the federal general election of 1900 he resigned his seat in the Quebec Legislature and was elected to represent St. Lawrence riding in the House of Commons of Canada. He was re-elected in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, 1908, and 1911.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bickerdike, Robert 1843 births 1928 deaths Canadian people of English descent Canadian Presbyterians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs People from Kingston, Ontario Anglophone Quebec people Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery