Thane Alexander Campbell, (July 7, 1895 – September 28, 1978) was a

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", ...

politician and jurist, who served as the 19th

premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Rob Lantz, from the Progressive Conservative Party. See also ...

from 1936 to 1943.

Early life

Born in

Summerside, Prince Edward Island Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the primary service centre for the western part of the island. History Summerside was ...

, the son of Alexander and Clara (Muttart) Campbell, Campbell was educated at Summerside Public School and

Prince of Wales College Prince of Wales College (PWC) is a former university college, which was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. PWC merged with St. Dunstan's University in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island. PWC traces its hi ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts from

Saint Dunstan's University :''St. Andrew's College, Prince Edward Island'' redirects to here. St. Dunstan's University (SDU) is a former university which was located on the northern outskirts of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. SDU merged with Prince of Wales C ...

and Master of Arts from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

. A

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, he received a Master of Arts degree from

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

. Returning to PEI in 1922, he read law with A. C. Saunders in Summerside.

Politics

Campbell first ran for a

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

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 ...

in a 1930 by-election as the Liberal candidate in

2nd Prince 2nd Prince was an electoral district in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, which elected two members to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1873 to 1993. The district comprised the western central portion of Prince Co ...

but lost. In 1930, he was appointed Attorney General of Prince Edward Island. He was elected for

1st Prince 1st Prince was an electoral district in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, which elected two members to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1873 to 1993. The district comprised the westernmost portion of Prince Cou ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and re-elected in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and was appointed Attorney and Advocate General in Premier Walter Lea's cabinet. When Premier Lea died in 1936, Campbell succeeded him. Campbell's government organised the provincial police, passed the province's first law governing the

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

and established a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. With the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Campbell's government committed itself to organising the province for the war effort.

Judicial career

In 1943, Campbell left politics to become Chief Justice on the island's

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and, in 1970, became head of the Foreign Claims Commission. While Chief Justice he saw his son, Alexander B. Campbell, sworn in as premier in 1966.

Curling

A curler, he joined the Summerside Curling Club in 1928. He was President of the PEI Curling Association in 1936. He served as President of the Dominion Curling Association from 1941 to 1942. In 2007, he was posthumously inducted into the Prince Edward Island Curling Hall of Fame and Museum. In 1974, he was inducted into the

Canadian Curling Hall of Fame The Canadian Curling Hall of Fame was established with its first inductees in 1973. It is operated by Curling Canada, the governing body for curling in Canada, in Orleans, Ontario. The Hall of Fame selection committee meets annually to choose indu ...

in the builder category.

Honours

In 1973 he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Family life

He married Cecilia Bradshaw (1906–1968) on 28 February 1930. They had four children: Virginia; Alex; Harriet; and J. Melville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Thane 1895 births 1978 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Canadian Rhodes Scholars Companions of the Order of Canada Curling Canada presidents Members of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Premiers of Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Prince Edward Island Liberal Party leaders Prince of Wales College alumni Saint Dunstan's University alumni Dalhousie University alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island