James Langstaff Bowman

The Honourable
James Langstaff Bowman
PC
18th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
In office
January 17, 1935 – February 5, 1936
MonarchsGeorge V
Edward VIII
Governors GeneralThe Earl of Bessborough
The Lord Tweedsmuir
Prime MinisterRichard Bedford Bennett
Preceded byGeorge Black
Succeeded byPierre-François Casgrain
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Dauphin
In office
1930–1935
Preceded byWilliam John Ward
Succeeded byWilliam John Ward
Personal details
Born(1879-10-06)October 6, 1879
Thornhill, Ontario
DiedSeptember 14, 1951(1951-09-14) (aged 71)
Dauphin, Manitoba
Political partyConservative
Olympic medal record
Men's Curling
Gold medal – first place 1932 Lake Placid Curling (demonstration)

James Langstaff Bowman, PC (October 6, 1879 – September 14, 1951) was the first Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba.

Biography

Bowman had been a teacher and lawyer in Dauphin, Manitoba. In 1917, he became the town's mayor. He ran unsuccessfully in the 1925 and 1926 general elections for the Conservative Party. He finally winning a seat in the 1930 election that brought R.B. Bennett to power.

He became Speaker after his predecessor, George Black, suffered a nervous breakdown in the summer of 1934, and was unfit to preside when the House of Commons of Canada reconvened in January 1935.

As the Deputy Speaker was ill, Bennett approached Bowman, a backbencher, hours before the House was to convene, about becoming Speaker for the rest of the Parliamentary term.

Bowman had little experience as Speaker and had to deal with a tense, pre-election session. Members of Parliament on all sides of the House felt that Bowman did well in the job. But when the 1935 general election was held in the fall, Bowman lost his seat by a large margin.

He returned to his law practice in Dauphin and failed in his attempt to regain his seat in the 1940 election.

James Bowman was named to the team that represented the Manitoba Curling Association at the 1932 Winter Olympics. That year, curling was a demonstration sport. Bowman was third for the team which took first place in the event. The Manitoba team was undefeated, winning all four of its games at the Olympics.[1] In 2004, the team was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.[2]

References

  1. ^ Imrie, Diane (27 March 2014). "Fort William mayor won Olympic gold". Chronicle-Journal. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014.
  2. ^ "1932 W.H. Burns Curling Team". Honoured Members Database. Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014.