Charles Dow Richards
{{short description|Canadian judge}}
{{other people||Charles Richards (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Charles Dow Richards
| image = Charles Dow Richards.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Charles Dow Richards as Chief Justice
| order = 20th Premier of New Brunswick
| term_start = May 19, 1931
| term_end = June 1, 1933
| predecessor = John B. M. Baxter
| successor = Leonard P. D. Tilley
| monarch = George V
| lieutenant_governor = Hugh Havelock McLean
| term_start1 = October 9, 1920
| term_end1 = August 10, 1925
| predecessor1 = William C. Crocket
| successor1 = B. H. Dougan
| alongside1 = John A. Young, Samuel L.B. Hunter, James K. Pinder
| term_start2 = June 18, 1930
| term_end2 = June 2, 1933
| predecessor2 = Riding re-created
| successor2 = Stewart E. Durling
| alongside2 = B. H. Dougan, Marcus Lorne Jewett, James M. Scott
| office3 = MLA for Fredericton
| term_start3 = August 10, 1925
| term_end3 = June 18, 1930
| predecessor3 = Riding created
| successor3 = Riding dissolved
| birth_date = {{birth date|1879|6|12|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Southampton, New Brunswick, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|1956|9|15|1879|6|12|mf=y}}
| death_place = Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
| nationality = Canadian
| party = Conservative
| spouse = {{marriage|Grace Bolton|1907}}
| children = 1 daughter
| alma_mater = University of New Brunswick
| occupation = lawyer, judge
| profession = politician
| religion =
}}
Charles Dow Richards (June 12, 1879 – September 15, 1956), was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician. He served as the 20th premier of New Brunswick from 1931 to 1933.
Early life and education
Richards was born in Southampton, New Brunswick.[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/charles-dow-richards/ "Charles Dow Richards"]. The Canadian Encyclopedia. He attended Fredericton Normal School and later the University of New Brunswick.{{cite book|author=Robert Michael Willes Chitty|title=Chitty's Law Journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DyanAAAAIAAJ|volume=6|year=1956|publisher=Jonah Publications|page=261}}
Career
Richards taught school for several years. He was admitted to the bar at age 33. and practised law in Fredericton.
Richards was elected to the New Brunswick legislature in 1920. He served as Conservative house leader and then Minister of Lands and Mines under Premier John B. M. Baxter. In 1928 the University of New Brunswick conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.{{cite book|title=Canada Lumberman and Woodworker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkghAQAAMAAJ|volume=48|year=1928|publisher=H.C. Maclean.|page=44}}
In 1931 Richards became premier of New Brunswick.{{cite book|title=The School|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLscAQAAIAAJ|volume=20|year=1932|page=214}} His two-year administration, in the depths of the Great Depression, instituted public bidding on crown land and fishing rights. In 1933 he left politics when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, serving as its Chief Justice from 1946 to 1955.[https://newspaperarchive.com/brandon-daily-sun-aug-11-1955-p-7/ Brandon Daily Sun] Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, August 11, 1955, page 7.{{cite book|title=The Solicitors' Journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8b8tAAAAIAAJ|volume=77, Part 1|year=1933|publisher=The Journal|page=408}}
As Justice, Richards sentenced the last man to be executed in Charlotte County. He did not accept the jury's request "that mercy be shown to the accused," 22-year-old Thomas Roland Hutchings, and sentenced him to hang at St. Andrews, New Brunswick on Wednesday, December 16, 1942, for the rape and murder of Bernice Connors.
Personal life
Richards married Grace Bolton. The couple had one daughter, who married a descendant of Philemon Wright.
Richards died in 1956 and was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Fredericton.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219204101/http://www.gnb.ca/legis/leglibbib/Special_Projects/premiers-bios/english/CDRichards.pdf Government of New Brunswick biography (pdf)]
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{{s-bef|before=John B. M. Baxter}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chief Justice of New Brunswick |years=1946–1955}}
{{s-aft|after=John B. McNair}}
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{{NBPremiers}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Charles D.}}
Category:University of New Brunswick alumni
Category:Lawyers in New Brunswick
Category:Judges in New Brunswick
Category:Premiers of New Brunswick
Category:People from York County, New Brunswick
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick