{{Short description|Newfoundland lawyer and politician (1875–1941)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = William Howley | native_name = | native_name_lang = | honorific_suffix = KC MHA | image = William R. Howley in 1937.jpg | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Howley in 1937 | order = | office = Vice-Chairman of the Commission of Government | term_start = {{start date|1936|02|26}} | term_end = 1937 | predecessor = Frederick C. Alderdice | successor = John Puddester | office1 = Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General | term_start1 = {{start date|1934|02|16}} | term_end1 = 1937 | predecessor1 = ''Office established'' | successor1 = Lewis Edward Emerson | constituency_AM2 = Placentia-St. Mary's | alongside2 = Richard Devereaux and Frank Morris | assembly2 = Newfoundland House of | term_start2 = {{start date|1909|05|08}} | term_end2 = {{end date|1913|10|30}} | predecessor2 = Edward Jackman<br>Michael S. Sullivan<br>James Davis | successor2 = William J. Walsh | constituency_AM3 = St. George's | assembly3 = Newfoundland House of | term_start3 = {{start date|1900|11|08}} | term_end3 = {{end date|1904|10|31}} | predecessor3 = Michael Gibbs | successor3 = George T. Carty | birth_name = William Richard Howley | birth_date = {{birth date|1875|07|06}} | birth_place = St. John's, Newfoundland Colony | death_date = {{Death date and age|1941|4|18|1875|7|6}} | death_place = St. John's, Newfoundland | party = Liberal (1900–1904)<br>Conservative (1904)<br>People's (1908–1913) | spouse = {{marriage|Mary Ryan|1905}} | relations = | children = 2 | relatives = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = Lawyer | profession = }}
'''William Richard Howley''', KC (July 6, 1875 – April 18, 1941)<ref name=fonds/> was a lawyer and politician in Newfoundland. He represented St. George's from 1900 to 1904 and Placentia and St. Mary's from 1909 to 1913 in the Newfoundland House of Assembly.<ref name=bio>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/cns_enl/id/1488 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador |title=Howley, William R |pages=1075}}</ref>
== Early life and legal career ==
Howley was born on July 6, 1875, in St. John's to geologist James Patrick Howley and Elizabeth Jane Firth.<ref name=fonds/> He was educated at St. Bonaventure's College, studied law with Robert Kent, and was called to the Newfoundland bar in 1898. He became the senior partner in Howley and Herder in 1909.<ref name=bio/> Howley was named King's Counsel in 1911.<ref name=fonds/>
Howley married Mary Ryan in 1905 and the couple had two daughters. He died in St. John's at the age of 65.<ref name=fonds>{{cite web |url=http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ead/id/261 |title=Howley Family |publisher=Memorial University}}</ref>
== Politics ==
Elected as a Liberal in 1900, he joined the Conservatives after a dispute with Robert Bond. He was defeated when he ran for reelection as a Conservative in 1904. Howley ran unsuccessfully as a People's Party candidate in 1908 but was elected in 1909. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in St. John's East in 1913.<ref name=fonds/> In 1928, he was named Minister of Justice in the Newfoundland cabinet but failed in his bid for election later that year. When responsible government was suspended in 1934, Howley served as Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General in the Commission of Government. From 1936 to 1938, he served as vice-chair of the commission. He was later named registrar for the Supreme Court.<ref name=bio/>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howley, William R}} Category:20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Category:Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Category:1875 births Category:1941 deaths Category:Members of the Newfoundland Commission of Government Category:Newfoundland People's Party MHAs Category:Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Category:Attorneys-general of the Dominion of Newfoundland
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