Robert Blackburn (17 December 1828 – 12 August 1894) was a Scottish-Canadian businessman and politician. Blackburn served as a village reeve and Member of Parliament. Blackburn was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1828, the son of Robert Blackburn, and came to Canada in 1842. He became a lumber merchant and partner in woollen mills. He was reeve of Gloucester Township, Ontario in 1864. He was also reeve of New Edinburgh, Ontario from 1868 to 1870 and from 1871 to 1873. In 1864, Blackburn married Mary Ann French. He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Russell from 1874 to 1878. Blackburn also served as a director of the Bank of Ottawa and the Ottawa Agricultural Insurance Company. Along with William Goodhue Perley and others, he helped establish the Ottawa City Passenger Railway Company, a horse-drawn tram service, in 1866. He died in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the age of 64. Blackburn Hamlet,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

was named after him. His uncle, James Blackburn, represented the County of Ottawa in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada.

References

1828 births 1894 deaths 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario Canadian people of Scottish descent Immigrants to the Province of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Mayors and reeves of Gloucester Township, Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario {{Ontario-mayor-stub