Robert Blackburn

Who was Robert Blackburn?

Robert Blackburn was a member of the Canadian House of Commons.

Blackburn was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1828, the son of Robert Blackburn, and came to Canada in 1842. He became a lumber merchant and partner in woollen mills. He was reeve of Gloucester Township, Ontario in 1864. He was also reeve of New Edinburgh, Ontario from 1868 to 1870 and from 1871 to 1873. In 1864, Blackburn married Mary Ann French. He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Russell from 1874 to 1878. Blackburn also served as a director of the Bank of Ottawa and the Ottawa Agricultural Insurance Company. Along with William Goodhue Perley and others, he helped establish the Ottawa City Passenger Railway Company, a horse-drawn tram service, in 1866. He died in Liverpool, England at the age of 64.

Blackburn Hamlet, Ontario was named after him.

His uncle, James Blackburn, represented the County of Ottawa in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada.