James J. Callanan

{{short description|Newfoundland politician (1842–1900)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = | honorific_suffix = MHA | image = 300x300px | alt = | caption = Callanan in 1894 | constituency_AM = St. John's West | assembly = Newfoundland House of | alongside = Edward Morris and James C. Tessier | term_start = {{start date|1897|10|28}} | term_end = {{end date|1900|06|08}} | predecessor = Thomas P. Jackman Patrick J. Scott | successor = John Anderson John Scott | alongside1 = Patrick J. Scott (1882–1889) Philip D. White (1882–1885) Edward Morris (1885–1889) | term_start1 = {{start date|1882|11|06}} | term_end1 = {{end date|1889|11|06}} | predecessor1 = Maurice Fenelon Lewis Tessier | successor1 = James Day Lawrence Gearin | office2 = St. John's City Councillor At-large | appointer2 = Augustus F. Goodridge | term_start2 = 1894 | term_end2 = {{end date|1896|01|23}} | birth_date = 1842 | birth_place = St. John's, Newfoundland Colony | death_date = {{death date and age|1900|06|08|1842}} | death_place = St. John's, Newfoundland Colony | spouse = | children = | party = Conservative (1882–1885, 1892–1897) Liberal (1885–1892, 1897–1900) | relations = | occupation = Fisherman, cooper, grocer | signature = | signature_alt = }}

'''James J. Callanan''' (1842 – June 8, 1900) was a cooper, merchant and political figure in Newfoundland. He represented St. John's West in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1882 to 1889 and from 1897 to 1900 as a Liberal.

== Business career ==

Callanan was born in St. John's and was tutored at home by private teachers.<ref name="DNLB">{{cite book |last1=Cuff |first1=Robert Harry |title=Dictionary of Newfoundland Biography |date=1990 |publisher=Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. |location=St. John's}}</ref> While working as a fisherman, he completed a coopering apprenticeship, establishing a cooperage in 1869 and joining the Mechanics Society the following year. In 1876, he became the president of the local Mechanics Institute in St. John's, and he remained in that role until 1890. In 1877, Callanan left his cooperage behind and established a retail and wholesale grocery business.<ref name="ENL">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Riggs |first=Bert |last2=Stockwood |first2=Wayne |date=1981 |title=Callanan, James J.|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns_enl/id/780|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1 |location=St. John's |publisher=Newfoundland Book Publishers Ltd.|access-date=4 April 2026}}</ref>

== Politics ==

Callanan entered the Newfoundland House of Assembly when he successfully ran as a Conservative candidate supporting Premier William Whiteway for the district of St. John's West in 1882. After he was re-elected in 1885 as a Liberal opposing Robert Thorburn's administration, Callanan lost his bid for a third term in 1889. He unsuccessfully attempted to regain his seat in 1893 as a Conservative candidate opposing Whiteway.

Callanan was then appointed to the St. John's City Council by the Augustus F. Goodridge administration in 1894, and he served until the subsequent 1896 municipal election.<ref name="Mott">{{cite book |last1=Mott |first1=Henry |title=Newfoundland Men: A Collection of Biographical Sketches, with Portraits [...] |date=1894 |publisher=T. W. & J. F. Cragg |location=Concord, New Hampshire |page=107|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/26224 |access-date=4 April 2026}}</ref> He then returned to the House of Assembly in 1897 as a supporter of Whiteway and he remained in office until his death in St. John's on June 8, 1900.<ref name="ENL" />

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callanan, James J}} Category:19th-century members of the Newfoundland House of Assembly Category:1842 births Category:1900 deaths Category:Newfoundland Colony people Category:People from Newfoundland (island) Category:Coopers Category:19th-century merchants