Allen Bristol Aylesworth

The Honourable Sir Allen Bristol Aylesworth PC KCMG
Minister of Justice
In office 4 June 1906 – 6 October 1911
Preceded by	Charles Fitzpatrick
Succeeded by	Charles Doherty
Postmaster General
In office 16 October 1905 – 3 June 1906
Preceded by	William Mulock
Succeeded by	Rodolphe Lemieux
Minister of Labour
In office 16 October 1905 – 3 June 1906
Preceded by	William Mulock
Succeeded by	Rodolphe Lemieux
Personal details
Born	November 27, 1854
Died	February 13, 1952 (aged 97)
Political party	Liberal

Sir Allen Bristol Aylesworth, PC, KCMG (27 November 1854 – 13 February 1952) was a Canadian lawyer and parliamentarian.

Born in Newburgh, Ontario of United Empire Loyalist ancestry, Aylesworth was educated at the University of Toronto, and called to the Ontario Bar in 1878. As the Canadian member of the Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903, he presented his country’s views in a minority report. Elected to the Dominion parliament in 1905, he served in the cabinet of Sir Wilfrid Laurier as postmaster-general and minister of labour, 1905–1906, and minister of justice, 1906–1911, in which capacity he oversaw the pardon of Angelina Napolitano, Canada’s first battered woman defence case.^[1] He acted as British representative at the North Atlantic Fisheries Arbitration in The Hague, 1910–1911, and was knighted for his services.

A Liberal, Aylesworth was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election on 22 November 1905 and re-elected in the 1908 as the Member of Parliament for the riding of York North in the province of Ontario. He served Cabinet of Canada under Sir Wilfrid Laurier as the Minister of Labour and Postmaster General of Canada from 16 October 1905–3 June 1906, and as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 4 June 1906–6 October 1911. On 11 January 1923 he was appointed to the Canadian Senate upon the recommendation of William Lyon Mackenzie King. He represented the senatorial division of North York, Ontario until his death.

Legacy

Mount Aylesworth, aka Boundary Peak 177, a summit on the Alaska-British Columbia boundary, was named for him in 1927.^[2]

References

1. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: Angelina Napolitano. By Franca Iacovetta. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2004. page accessed June 2008
2. "Aylesworth, Mount". BC Geographical Names.

External links

• Allen Bristol Aylesworth – Parliament of Canada biography
• Plaque in Honour of Sir Allen Bristol Aylesworth (plaque #26)
• Archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services