Notes

There were two separate British colonies on Canada’s west coast at the time John Robson started The British Columbian in 1861. The Colony of Vancouver Island had been established earlier in 1849 and on mainland British Columbia, the Colony of British Columbia was established in 1858. In 1866 the two colonies merged to become the Colony of British Columbia and in 1867, after Confederation, it became the Province of British Columbia.

Born in Upper Canada in 1824, John Robson spent his early career as a merchant in various cities such as Montreal, Hamilton and Brantford. Suffering from a severe case of gold fever, he travelled to British Columbia in 1859 and spent two months unsuccessfully panning for Gold. Having no luck finding gold, Robson, with the backing of a group of influential citizens, became editor of a new newspaper, The British Columbian.

The British Columbian was a weekly newspaper which presented the case for constitutional government. His main objectives for the paper were ‘Responsible Government, liberal institutions, the redress of all our grievances, and the moral and intellectual improvement of the people.’

Robson was elected to the provincial legislature and in 1889 he became premier. He continued to publish his newspaper.

In 1892, on a trip to London, England, he crushed the tip of his little finger, blood poisoning set in and he died from the infection.