{{Short description|Canadian politician}} {{More citations needed|date=August 2008}} {{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]] | name = James Langstaff Bowman | honorific_suffix = [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada|PC]] | image = | office = 18th [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]] | term_start = January 17, 1935 | term_end = February 5, 1936 | predecessor = [[George Black (Canadian politician)|George Black]] | successor = [[Pierre-François Casgrain]] | constituency_MP1 = [[Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette|Dauphin]] | parliament1 = Canadian | predecessor1 = [[William John Ward]] | successor1 = William John Ward | term_start1 = 1930 | term_end1 = 1935 | birth_date = {{birth date|1879|10|6}} | birth_place = [[Thornhill, Ontario]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1951|9|14|1879|10|6}} | death_place = [[Dauphin, Manitoba]] | spouse = | party = [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]] | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = }} {{MedalTop}} {{MedalSport|Men's [[Curling at the Winter Olympics|Curling]]}} {{MedalGold|[[1932 Winter Olympics|1932 Lake Placid]]|''[[Curling at the 1932 Winter Olympics|Curling (demonstration)]]''}} {{MedalBottom}} '''James Langstaff Bowman''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (October 6, 1879 – September 14, 1951) was the first [[Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]] from [[Manitoba]].
== Biography == Bowman had been a teacher and lawyer in [[Dauphin, Manitoba]]. In 1917, he became the town's mayor. He ran unsuccessfully in the [[1925 Canadian federal election|1925]] and [[1926 Canadian federal election|1926 general elections]] for the [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative Party]]. He finally winning a seat in the [[1930 Canadian federal election|1930 election]] that brought [[R.B. Bennett]] to power.
He became Speaker after his predecessor, [[George Black (Canadian politician)|George Black]], suffered a nervous breakdown in the summer of 1934, and was unfit to preside when the [[House of Commons of Canada]] reconvened in January 1935.
As the Deputy Speaker was ill, Bennett approached Bowman, a [[backbench]]er, hours before the House was to convene, about becoming Speaker for the rest of the Parliamentary term.
Bowman had little experience as Speaker and had to deal with a tense, pre-election session. [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Members of Parliament]] on all sides of the House felt that Bowman did well in the job. But when the [[1935 Canadian federal election|1935 general election]] was held in the fall, Bowman lost his [[Legislative seat|seat]] by a large margin.
He returned to his law practice in Dauphin and failed in his attempt to regain his seat in the [[1940 Canadian federal election|1940 election]].
James Bowman was named to the team that represented the [[Manitoba Curling Association]] at the [[1932 Winter Olympics]]. That year, [[curling]] was a [[demonstration sport]]. Bowman was third for the team which took first place in the event. The Manitoba team was undefeated, winning all four of its games at the Olympics.<ref name=gold>{{cite news |url=http://www.chroniclejournal.com/content/news/local/2014/03/27/fort-william-mayor-won-olympic-gold |title=Fort William mayor won Olympic gold |newspaper=Chronicle-Journal |last=Imrie |first=Diane |date=March 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140913002534/http://www.chroniclejournal.com/content/news/local/2014/03/27/fort-william-mayor-won-olympic-gold |archivedate=September 13, 2014 }}</ref> In 2004, the team was inducted into the [[Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum|Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halloffame.mb.ca/honouredmembers/inductee.php?id=318&criteria_sort=name |title=1932 W.H. Burns Curling Team |work=Honoured Members Database |publisher=Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913171209/http://www.halloffame.mb.ca/honouredmembers/inductee.php?id=318&criteria_sort=name |archivedate=2014-09-13 }}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=6229}} *{{sports links}} <!--*{{curlingzone}}-->
{{Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons}} {{Footer Olympic Champions Curling Men}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, James Langstaff}} [[Category:1879 births]] [[Category:1951 deaths]] [[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba]] [[Category:Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs]] [[Category:Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada]] [[Category:Lawyers in Manitoba]] [[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]] [[Category:Canadian sportsperson-politicians from Manitoba]] [[Category:Canadian people of German descent]] [[Category:Mayors of Dauphin, Manitoba]] [[Category:Canadian male curlers]] [[Category:Curlers from Manitoba]] [[Category:Curlers from Ontario]] [[Category:Olympic curlers for Canada]] [[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada]] [[Category:Curlers at the 1932 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]] [[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Manitoba]]