'Robert Thorpe' (''
c.''
1764 –
May 11 1836) was a judge and political figure in
Upper Canada.
He was born in
Dublin,
Ireland around 1764. He graduated with a degree in law from
Trinity College, Dublin and was admitted to the bar in 1790.
In 1801, he became chief justice for
Prince Edward Island. Because he was not getting paid on time, he sailed to
England in 1804 but was captured by a
French privateer. Thorpe later escaped and was named to Court of King's Bench in Upper Canada. On the death of his friend,
William Weekes, in a duel, he was elected in a by-election to the
4th Parliament of Upper Canada representing
Dundas,
Simcoe & 1st
York. He advocated that the executive council should be responsible to the elected representatives. He was suspended from office by the lieutenant governor
Francis Gore in July 1807.
In 1808, he was appointed the first chief justice in
Sierra Leone.
He died in
London in 1836.
External links
★
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''