William Henry Draper
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- This article refers to the early Canadian political figure. For other references, see William Draper.
William Henry Draper (March 11 1801-November 3 1877) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.He was born near London, England in 1801 and ran away to sea at age 15. In 1820, he settled in Hamilton Township in Upper Canada. He moved to Port Hope, studied law and was called to the bar in 1828. In 1829, he secured a position in the office of John Beverley Robinson and then partnered with Christopher Alexander Hagerman, then solicitor general. He was elected to the 13th Parliament of Upper Canada representing Toronto in 1836. Later that year, he was appointed to the Executive Council and became solicitor general the following year. Draper handled many of the prosecutions following the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. In 1840, he became attorney general for Upper Canada.
Draper supported the union of Upper and Lower Canada on economic grounds and also believed that, because the British government favoured the union, that it would be better to participate in the process than to criticize from the sidelines. He was elected to the 1st Parliament of the United Canadas and continued as attorney general for Canada West and a member of the Executive Council. Although his attempts to establish a conservative alliance failed, Draper played an important role in developing a coalition between Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin in 1842. Following the next election, he was essentially leading the government from 1844 to 1847. During this period, legislation was passed dealing with schools in both Canada East and Canada West, although Draper's attempt to establish a University of Upper Canada failed. Draper helped John A. Macdonald gain recognition, when he named him to a cabinet post. In 1847, with the arrival of Lord Elgin, Draper resigned from the position of attorney general.
In 1856, he became chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Upper Canada and, in 1869, he became chief justice of the Court of Error and Appeal in Ontario. He died in Yorkville, Toronto in 1877. He was married to Mary White in 1827 with whome he had several children, including William George Draper and Francis Collier Draper, both well known lawyers.
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