{{short description|Newfoundland naturalist and geologist (1847–1918)}} {{Infobox person | name = | honorific_suffix = | image = 300x300px | caption = Howley in 1894 | birth_date = {{birth date|1847|07|07}} | birth_place = St. John's, Newfoundland Colony | death_date = {{death date and age|1918|01|01|1847|07|07}} | death_place = St. John's, Newfoundland | education = Saint Bonaventure's College | notable_works = ''The Beothucks or Red Indians'' (1915) | spouse = Elizabeth Anne Firth | children = 6, including William | relatives = Michael Francis Howley (brother) }} '''James Patrick Howley''' (July 7, 1847 – January 1, 1918) was a Newfoundland naturalist and geologist. He was one of the first people of European descent to visit the interior of the island of Newfoundland at the Bay du Nord River system. Howley is best known for his book ''The Beothucks or Red Indians'' (1915), which documents the extinct Beothuk people.
==Biography== Howley was born on the Mount Cashel property on Torbay Road, St. John's, Newfoundland as the son of Richard Howley and Eliza (née Burke).<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=133|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/26236 |access-date=5 April 2026}}</ref> He was educated at Saint Bonaventure's College in St. John's.
For a time he worked in the office of the colonial secretary, but his fame came when he participated in the geographical and topographical survey of the colony of Newfoundland. In the course of his surveying, he met John Peyton Jr., who had captured the Beothuk woman Demasduit alongside his father John Peyton Sr. and his servants. Peyton Jr. related to Howley many stories of the Beothuk, which started a life long fascination with Newfoundland's lost indigenous people.<ref name="ENL">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Howley|first=D. E. |date=1984|title=Howley, James Patrick|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns_enl/id/1484|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 2 |location=St. John's |publisher=Newfoundland Book Publishers Ltd.|access-date=5 April 2026}}</ref> Howley began collecting artifacts, oral history and documents which related to the Beothuk. His collection culminated in the publication of '''''The Beothucks or Red Indians''''', which was published by Cambridge University Press in 1915. The book remains an important source on the Beothuk.<ref name="DCB">{{cite DCB |url=https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/howley_james_patrick_14E.html|title=Howley, James Patrick |author=Story, George M.|volume=14|accessdate=5 April 2026}}</ref>
Howley was also a founding director of the Newfoundland Museum.
==Legacy==
Howley's son William would go on to serve in the Newfoundland House of Assembly and the Newfoundland Commission of Government.<ref name=fonds>{{cite web |url=http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ead/id/261 |title=Howley Family |publisher=Memorial University}}</ref>
In May 2009, William J. Kirwin and Patrick O'Flaherty published an edited version of Howley's ''Reminiscences of Forty-two Years of Exploration in and about Newfoundland.''<ref name="Kirwin_2009">{{citation |url=http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/howley/Reminiscences.pdf |title=''Reminiscences of Forty-two Years of Exploration in and about Newfoundland'' |date=May 2009 |access-date=August 6, 2016 |pages=2158 |location=St. John's, Newfoundland |publisher=Memorial University of Newfoundland |editor-first1= W.J. |editor-last1=Kirwin |editor-first2=P.A. |editor-last2=O'Flaherty}}</ref> In 2016, he was named a National Historic Person.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?crtr.sj1D=&crtr.mnthndVl=2&mthd=advSrch&crtr.dpt1D=68&nid=1032909&crtr.lc1D=&crtr.tp1D=&crtr.yrStrtVl=2015&crtr.kw=&crtr.dyStrtVl=23&crtr.aud1D=&crtr.mnthStrtVl=11&crtr.page=2&crtr.yrndVl=2016&crtr.dyndVl=21 |title=James Patrick Howley (1847-1918), Parks Canada backgrounder, Feb. 15, 2016 |access-date=2016-02-22 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233143/http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?crtr.sj1D=&crtr.mnthndVl=2&mthd=advSrch&crtr.dpt1D=68&nid=1032909&crtr.lc1D=&crtr.tp1D=&crtr.yrStrtVl=2015&crtr.kw=&crtr.dyStrtVl=23&crtr.aud1D=&crtr.mnthStrtVl=11&crtr.page=2&crtr.yrndVl=2016&crtr.dyndVl=21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== *Beothuk language
==References== {{reflist}} * [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7456 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Howley, James Patrick}} Category:1847 births Category:1918 deaths Category:Newfoundland Colony people Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)