Robert Read

{{short description|Canadian politician}} {{about||the New Zealand cricketer|Robert Read (cricketer)|those of a similar name|Robert Reed (disambiguation)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Robert Read | honorific_suffix = | image = RobertRead23.jpg | image_size = | office1 = Canadian Senator <br />from Ontario | appointer1 = John A. Macdonald | term_start1 = February 24, 1871 | term_end1 = June 29, 1896 | riding2 = Hastings East | parliament2 = Canadian | predecessor2 = | successor2 = John White | term_start2 = 1867 | term_end2 = 1871 | birth_date = {{birth date|1814|12|11}} | birth_place = Fressingfield in Suffolk, England | death_date = {{death date and age|1896|06|29|1814|12|11}} | death_place = | spouse = | party = Conservative | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = }} '''Robert Read''' (December 11, 1814 – June 29, 1896) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He represented Hastings East in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Conservative until February 24, 1871 when he was named to the Senate of Canada for Quinte division.<ref name="parl">{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=13113|nolist=yes}}</ref>

==Background== He was born at Fressingfield in Suffolk, England in 1814,<ref name="parl"/> the son of Robert Read,<ref name="johnson">{{cite book |title=The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967 |last=Johnson |first=J.K. |year=1968 |publisher=Public Archives of Canada}}</ref> and came to Upper Canada in 1836, settling at Belleville. Read was a farmer, distiller and tanner. He also served as director of the Grand Trunk Railway. He was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada for Quinte in 1862 and then was elected to the House of Commons after Confederation.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men |location=Toronto |publisher=American Biographical Publishing Company |date=1880 |volume=Ontario |pages=725–726 |url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.08545/827}}</ref>

In 1840, Read married Margaret Campion.<ref name="johnson"/> Read remarried in 1894 to Mary Jane Horsey, the eldest daughter of Kingston architect Edward Horsey. He died in office in 1896.<ref name="parl"/>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Robert}} Category:1814 births Category:1896 deaths Category:Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Category:Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Category:Canadian senators from Ontario Category:People from Fressingfield Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada