Robert Brown Job Knt. (12 February 1873 – 6 September 1961) was an English-born businessman, politician, and economic unionist in

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 ...

. He was the oldest elected member of the

Newfoundland National Convention The Newfoundland National Convention of 1946 to 1948 was a forum established to decide the constitutional future of Newfoundland. Nominations On 11 December 1945 the British Government announced that there would be an election to a national c ...

Early life and education

Job was born in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

, England in 1873, the youngest son of Agnes (Brown) and Thomas Raffles Job (1837–1917). T.R. Job was the son of Thomas Bulley Job and Jessie Carson, the daughter of Sir

William Carson Sir William Carson (baptised 4 June 1770 – 26 February 1843), often called "The Great Reformer", was a medical doctor and businessman in Newfoundland. Carson's primary contribution to Newfoundland was the application of modern agricultural ...

. Job's mother was Agnes Beater Brown. Job had several siblings, including three older brothers, William Carson Job (1864–1943), Samuel Ernest Job (1865–1937), and Thomas Bulley Job (born 1872). His three sisters were, Fannie Isabel, Martha, and Mildred. Job received his education at the

Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby is a 7–18 boys private day school, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside. The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors: ''Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt'' (Small Things Grow ...

. Afterwards, Job went to work 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 ...

for the Union Marine Insurance Company. Illness forced him to leave England in 1896, so he decided to travel to Newfoundland, his parents' homeland.

Career

Job went to work in St. John's at the family's maritime mercantile business. He settled permanently in

in 1897 and two years later, he became a full partner in the family's St. John's business, Job Brothers & Co. and that in Liverpool, Job Brothers. In 1909, Job, his brother William Carson Job, Thomas Raffles Job, and Samuel Ernest Job incorporated Job Brothers & Co., Limited. Job's early years with the company were spent assisting his older brother, W.C. Job, with the responsibilities of management. Upon W.C. Job's retirement in 1916, Job became managing director, and three years later its president, serving in that capacity for over 30 years, before retiring from management and becoming chairman of the board. Job also had a political career.

Walter Stanley Monroe Walter Stanley Monroe (May 14, 1871 – October 6, 1952) was a businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1924 to 1928 as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party. He was born in Ireland in 1871, ...

appointed Job in 1927 as a member of the

Legislative Council of Newfoundland The Legislative Council of Newfoundland was the upper house of the General Assembly of Newfoundland from 1833 to 1934. The Legislative Council was appointed by the governor of Newfoundland, not elected. Bills were submitted by the House of Asse ...

and he served there until the council's 1934 dissolution. In 1945, he became the oldest elected member of the Newfoundland National Convention. In gratitude for his 18 years of services as Belgian consul in Newfoundland, Job was made a

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

of the Order of the Crown of Belgium.

Personal life

In 1902, Job married Alice Mary Warren (died 1930), a sister of William Robertson Warren who served as the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

from July 1923 to April 1924. Two years after Alice's death, he married secondly Emilie Jackson Warren (died 1934), William Warren's widow, and they had one daughter, Jennifer. He died at the St. Patrick's Mercy Home in St. John's in 1961.

Selected works

* (1947), ''The Idea of a Partly Internationalized Newfoundland'' * (1954). ''John Job's family: A story of his ancestors and successors and their business connections with Newfoundland and Liverpool 1730-1953''. St. John's, Nfld: Telegram Print. Co.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Job, Robert Brown 1873 births 1961 deaths Businesspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador British emigrants to Newfoundland Colony English chief executives Belgian knights Members of the Legislative Council of Newfoundland Dominion of Newfoundland politicians Newfoundland National Convention members People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby