# James Patrick Howley
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{{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](/source/St._John's%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador), [Newfoundland Colony](/source/Newfoundland_Colony)
| death_date = {{death date and age|1918|01|01|1847|07|07}}
| death_place = St. John's, [Newfoundland](/source/Dominion_of_Newfoundland)
| education = [Saint Bonaventure's College](/source/Saint_Bonaventure's_College)
| notable_works = ''The Beothucks or Red Indians'' (1915)
| spouse = Elizabeth Anne Firth
| children = 6, including [William](/source/William_R._Howley)
| relatives = [Michael Francis Howley](/source/Michael_Francis_Howley) (brother)
}}
'''James Patrick Howley''' (July 7, 1847 – January 1, 1918) was a [Newfoundland](/source/Newfoundland_Colony) naturalist and geologist. He was one of the first people of [European](/source/European_people) descent to visit the interior of the island of [Newfoundland](/source/Newfoundland_(island)) at the [Bay du Nord River](/source/Bay_du_Nord_River) system. Howley is best known for his book ''The Beothucks or Red Indians'' (1915), which documents the extinct [Beothuk](/source/Beothuk) people.
==Biography==
Howley was born on the Mount Cashel property on Torbay Road, [St. John's](/source/St._John's%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador), [Newfoundland](/source/Newfoundland_Colony) as the son of Richard Howley and Eliza (née Burke).[{{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](/source/Concord%2C_New_Hampshire) |page=133|url=https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns/id/26236 |access-date=5 April 2026}}] He was educated at [Saint Bonaventure's College](/source/Saint_Bonaventure's_College) in St. John's.
For a time he worked in the office of the [colonial secretary](/source/Chief_Secretary_(British_Empire)), but his fame came when he participated in the geographical and topographical survey of the [colony of Newfoundland](/source/colony_of_Newfoundland). In the course of his surveying, he met John Peyton Jr., who had captured the [Beothuk](/source/Beothuk) woman [Demasduit](/source/Demasduit) alongside his father [John Peyton Sr.](/source/John_Peyton_(fisherman)) 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.[{{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](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador), volume 2 |location=[St. John's](/source/St._John's%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador) |publisher=Newfoundland Book Publishers Ltd.|access-date=5 April 2026}}] 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](/source/Cambridge_University_Press) in 1915. The book remains an important source on the Beothuk.[{{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}}]
Howley was also a founding director of the [Newfoundland Museum](/source/Newfoundland_Museum).
==Legacy==
Howley's son [William](/source/William_R._Howley) would go on to serve in the [Newfoundland House of Assembly](/source/Newfoundland_and_Labrador_House_of_Assembly) and the [Newfoundland Commission of Government](/source/Newfoundland_Commission_of_Government).[{{cite web |url=http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ead/id/261 |title=Howley Family |publisher=Memorial University}}]
In May 2009, William J. Kirwin and [Patrick O'Flaherty](/source/Patrick_O'Flaherty_(writer)) published an edited version of Howley's ''Reminiscences of Forty-two Years of Exploration in and about Newfoundland.''[{{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}}] In 2016, he was named a [National Historic Person](/source/Persons_of_National_Historic_Significance).[{{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 }}]
==See also==
*[Beothuk language](/source/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==
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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)
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Patrick Howley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Patrick_Howley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Patrick_Howley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.