Francis Evans Cornish

Who was Francis Evans Cornish?

Francis Evans Cornish, QC was a politician in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. He served as Mayor of London, Ontario, in the early 1860s, became the first Mayor of Winnipeg in 1874, and was for a time a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

Cornish was born in London, Ontario, to a family that had moved to Canada from England twelve years earlier. He was educated in London, articled in law, and was called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1855. At age 26, he was appointed a QC. He was a successful lawyer, and was involved in the local masonic and Orange lodges.

London was incorporated as a city in 1855, and Cornish was elected as an alderman in its seventh ward three years later. He was re-elected in 1859 and 1860. In May 1860, Cornish ran as a Conservative candidate in the riding of Middlesex East, in a by-election for the Province of Canada's legislature. He was defeated by R. Craik, a Liberal. There was a second Conservative candidate in the race, and some suspect that Cornish deliberately split the Conservative vote to permit a Liberal victory.

Cornish was elected Mayor of London in 1861, and held the position for the next four years. He was responsible for resolving a scandal at the city's hospital, and oversaw the city's first serious efforts to reduce fire hazards in its central region. The most notorious incident of his tenure as mayor occurred in 1863, when he physically attacked a British commander who boasted of an affair with Cornish's wife. He was convicted of assault, and fined eight dollars.