Date Published:
April 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

Sir Louis Henry Davies

Davies, Sir Louis Henry (1845-1924), chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (1918-24), was born in Prince Edward Island on May 4, 1845, the son of the Hon. Benjamin Davies and Kezia Attwood Watts. He was educated at Prince of Wales College, Charlottetown, and studied law at the Inner Temple, London, England. He was called to the English bar in 1866, and to the bar of Prince Edward Island in 1867 (Q.C., 1880). From 1872 to 1879 he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, and from 1876 to 1879 he was prime minister of the province. In 1882 he was elected as a Liberal to the Canadian House of Commons for Queen's; and he represented this constituency continuously until 1901. He was one of the leaders of the Liberal opposition from 1882 to 1896; and from 1896 to 1901 he was minister of marine and fisheries in the Laurier administration. In 1901 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada; and in 1918 he became its chief justice. He died at Ottawa on May 1, 1924. In 1872 he married Susan, fourth daughter of the Rev. Dr. Wiggins. He was created a K.C.M.G. in 1897, and an imperial privy councillor in 1919.

Source  : W. Stewart Wallace, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 411p., p. 183.